


Bruce Got Therapy Instead

by mhurm123



Series: Bruce Got Therapy Instead [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anxiety Disorder, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Batfamily (DCU), Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Cass is the oldest, Depression, Duke is the second oldest, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Genderfluid Character, Genderfluid Jason Todd, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I don't know the girls that well, I feel really bad about it, I try my best to tag triggering stuff but im Not Great at it, I'll update tags the more I write, I'm just tagging everything even if its minor bc i dont wanna trigger anyone, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Latino Jason Todd, Multi, Multimedia, Not all of the tags have happened yet, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Protective Bruce Wayne, Sibling Bonding, Social Media, Suicidal Thoughts, The JL still exists, The robins are in normal order, This fic is happier than the tags suggest i swear, Trans Male Character, Trans Tim Drake, but they will, no capes AU, no editing we die like robins, this is basically the outcome of all my Batfam headcanons, what is canon? I don't know her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2020-10-18 05:44:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 38,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20634062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mhurm123/pseuds/mhurm123
Summary: “I’m twenty four and have yet to find a partner,” Bruce stated, not looking up from the paper.“While true, I hardly think that is a subject to worry over right now. Many people your age have yet to meet someone they desire to spend the rest of their life with.”“It’s...I don’t really have a problem with the fact that I haven’t met anyone.” A pause where Bruce took a contemplative sip of his coffee. Alfred patiently waited for the young man to say what was actually going through his mind. “Well, the Manor seems rather...empty, don’t you think?” He finally looked up to his butler.Alfred fully turned to Bruce, his free hand held behind his back. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what point you’re trying to make, sir.”“I’m thinking about adopting, Alf.”OR: A world in which Bruce Wayne got therapy instead of becoming Batman.





	1. Songbird

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is gonna be both writing and some pictures. Most chapters should either be pictures or writing, not both. I know phones can be funky with screenshots sometimes, so I won't do that to you guys. It's mostly meant to be cute and funny, but there will definitely be some more adult themes later on. I'll be adding more tags as I go. I'm not even sure if all the tags right now will be 100% accurate as the story might change as I continue to write, but what is tagged is what I have planned so far. I hope you enjoy! (This is very loosely based off a role play my friend and I wrote.)

“How did your appointment go, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked as the young man sat down in the passenger seat, quietly closing the car door.

“It went okay, I guess.” The sixteen year old shrugged as he buckled himself in. “We didn’t really talk about much.”

The older man nodded. “Yes, usually the first appointment is spent getting to know the patient. I’m sure the next time the two of you meet will go a little better.”

“I don’t see why I have to do this Alfred. I’m perfectly fine.” Bruce wasn’t lying, or at least that’s the way he saw it. It had been eight years since his parents died. Yes, he still missed them, thought about them almost every day, but it’s not like he was a flight risk. He spent his time learning karate and using the gym they had set up in the basement to learn self-defense moves. One thing Alfred had always made sure Bruce had was an outlet, whether it be punching a punching bag until he physically couldn’t move anymore, or sitting down and talking to someone. Alfred always tried to make sure Bruce knew it was okay to feel his feelings. 

That didn’t stop him from bottling them up, but at least the effort was there.

“Well, Master Bruce, if you’re perfectly fine, then I see no pain in going to talk to a professional once a week,” Alfred responded in a tone that said this decision was final. “Now, how do you feel about ice cream?”

A small smile, something Alfred would consider a major victory. “I’d love some ice cream, Alfie.”

Alfred would never know that this decision is what set Bruce on the straight path. This decision is the only thing that kept his son from becoming the Dark Knight.

* * *

“Alfred,” Bruce began one morning over breakfast. The paper was in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He was still dressed in his robe, thankfully not having to go into work for another hour.

“Yes, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked from where he was dusting off a picture frame in the dining hall.

“I’m twenty-four and have yet to find a partner,” Bruce stated, not looking up from the paper.

“While true, I hardly think that is a subject to worry over right now. Many people your age have yet to meet someone they desire to spend the rest of their life with.”

“It’s...I don’t really have a problem with the fact that I haven’t met anyone.” A pause where Bruce took a contemplative sip of his coffee. Alfred patiently waited for the young man to say what was actually going through his mind. “Well, the Manor seems rather...empty, don’t you think?” He finally looked up to his butler.

Alfred fully turned to Bruce, his free hand held behind his back. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what point you’re trying to make, sir.”

“I’m thinking about adopting, Alf.” Anyone else would’ve missed the surprised look that crossed Alfred’s face for only a second, but Bruce knew.

“Well, that certainly would make the Manor feel less empty,” he responded truthfully, taking a few steps closer to the sitting man. “Might I ask why this has suddenly come up?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a month or so, actually.” He set down the newspaper, and Alfred spotted a small picture of a local orphanage on the page Bruce had previously been looking at. Bruce folded his hands together in front of him, looking his grandfather in the eye. “And I just wanted to get your blessing before I did it. You live in this house, too, and a child will affect your life as much as it will mine.”

“While I am honored you would think of me, it is ultimately your decision. If you think you are ready for the responsibility of a child, I will not argue with your decision.”

Bruce nodded. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Master Bruce. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?”

“No.” Alfred began to turn back to what he had been doing. “Well…” Alfred turned back and ever so patiently waited for his son to continue. “Would you like to come with me when I go to the orphanage?” Bruce’s shoulder twitched, a tell that Alfred had come to know meant the man was nervous.

“I’d find no greater joy,” the old man responded. “Now if that is all, Master Bruce, I would suggest you finish your eggs before they go cold.”

Bruce returned to his breakfast, and Alfred returned to his cleaning. Neither could wipe the small smiles from their faces.

* * *

Someone was coming today, someone important. They all had to be on their best behavior or they'd get in trouble. The nuns had brought out some of the 'more likely' adoption candidates to be front and center. 

Cass was in the back reading To Kill A Mockingbird.

"Ma'am. Ma'am," Bruce near begged the woman in charge. "Let me have a moment, alright." He motioned to the back of the room. "I'm just going to sit. Alfred needs to meet everyone as well and he went to go freshen up." He escaped before the woman could say anymore, sitting in a chair over from a girl silently reading in the back.

Cass glanced up from the book to look over at the man who'd sat next to her. This must be the Important One. She gave him a small smile before returning to her novel.

With a smile back, Bruce slinked back further into the chair in relief when the girl didn't immediately start talking. He had to admit....he wasn't the most social creature, and this was extremely taxing on him. He just...needed a few minutes, that was all. And she didn't seem to mind. He'd pick up again when Alfred was back and--- there was Alfred...

Cass watched out of the corner of her eye. The man was stiff, possibly from stress or being overwhelmed. She agreed, it could be very overwhelming here sometimes. There were a lot of other kids. So, she looked at him and offered him her book. Whether he wanted to just read it himself, or opted to read it aloud to her, she didn’t mind, but she figured it would help soothe him.

Bruce took the book gingerly, "You want me to read it...to you?" He might be in over his head with this child stuff.

Cass nodded, moving so her body was facing towards him. That way he'd know he had her full attention. Alfred silently walked over and joined the pair, sitting in the last free chair in that area. 

With a thankful nod, Bruce began to read. Once he finished the chapter, he lowered the book and finally introduced himself. "I'm Bruce...Wayne, if that means anything to you. What's your name?"

Cass had been dreading this moment. The moment that the person realized she couldn't actually talk, that she was damaged goods. They gave her a pitying look and moved on, leaving her to her book. She tapped her throat a couple times, then signed 'C-A-S-S-A-N-D-R-A'.

"Cassandra?" Bruce mimed the motions back to her. "Is that right?" His brain sputtered for a second as it caught up to him. Oh, she was mute. God, he was rusty on his sign language, but he'd brush up on it. His mind sputtered again. Hold on.

Cass held back her surprised and nodded. 'You can call me Cass.'

"Wow, I'm rusty. Cass for short?" He inferred. "Well uh," Bruce motioned to Alfred, "Cass this is Alfred, Alfred, Cass. She's reading one of your favorite pieces of American literature."

Later that night, Cassandra Cain packed her bags.


	2. Nuthatcher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clark Kent only reports the important stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one night! (don't get used to it) A lot of you really seemed to enjoy the first chapter, so here's a little more content to keep you guys happy! Next chapter will be back to writing.


	3. Lark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follows some of Cass's experiences with Bruce, as well as a surprise ending!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of edited this and a friend of mine looked over part of it, but it is mostly unedited. If you find anything, don't be afraid to point it out! I hope you enjoy

Bruce, since adopting Cass, had been consistently taking her to the doctor. Healthcare in the foster system was lackluster at best, and Cass had missed quite a few check ups, including vaccines. One of the most concerning things, of course, was the cause of Cass’s muteness. Obviously, it didn’t bother Bruce, but it didn’t seem to be selective, and he felt the need to know in case it was caused by something that could affect her later on.

When he’d first broached the subject a couple months after taking Cass in, she was hesitant to talk about it, and Bruce let her be. He wasn’t going to force her to talk about something she wasn’t ready for.

Another few months after that was when she actually told him all she knew. ‘I’ve always been like this. The nuns said my parents put me up for adoption when I was five. The nuns are the ones that taught me sign.’ That was all she knew. This had been her reality for as long as she could remember. That was when Bruce decided to consult a Doctor, just in case.

Nine and a half months after Cassandra Cain was adopted, Bruce sat her down in the living room to talk to her about what the Doctor had found. “Cass, I got some news from one of your Doctors and I thought I’d share it with you.” 

Cass sat across from him on the couch, Indian style, and nodded in return, giving him her full attention.

“Doctor Romero found out the reason behind your muteness. He says when you were younger, probably around three or four, you had a stroke. It was pretty minor, and you were very lucky, but it affected your speech. Cass, you have a disorder called Aphasia. Knowing this doesn’t change anything at all, but I thought you might like to know that there’s a name for it.”

Cass nodded again, staring at Bruce as she processed. The two sat in silence, the only sound in the room being the ticking of the grandfather clock standing against the wall. A few seconds later, tears started spilling down her cheeks. “Cass?” he asked, moving closer to comfort her while still leaving enough room that he could see what she signed.

‘I forgot.’ She signed as if that explained everything.

“You forgot? Cass, what did you forget?” Bruce knit his eyebrows together in confusion.

‘That’s why my parents didn’t want me. I was broken.’

Part of Bruce’s heart ached for her, and another part wanted to track down Cass’ parents and punch each of them in the face multiple times. Instead of doing the latter, he pulled his daughter into a tight hug, letting her cry into his shoulder. "You're not broken, Cass. It's who you are, and you're _beautiful."_

* * *

Cass waved her dad over excitedly, showing off the shirt she’d found. It was a tank top from the boy’s section that showed off a Superman logo. ‘Please?’ She signed.

Bruce smiled, kneeling down in front of his daughter. “I’ll add it to the pile.” He gently took it from his daughter’s hands and added the shirt to the quickly growing pile of clothes hanging over his arm.

There were a lot of things Bruce was still learning about when it comes to parenting. Even after two years, he still learned and experienced new things every single day. Like last month, when Cass shyly approached him.

_ The afternoon light shined in through the large window behind Bruce’s desk. He was finishing up some paperwork WayneTech needed filled out by tomorrow to be able to continue work on the newest laptops. They’d be passing them out to schools in the area in the coming months, and everything needed to be in order for things to run smoothly. _

_ He finished signing a paper, setting his pen down and rubbing his hand a bit as he flipped to the next page and began reading over that one. He made it about a paragraph into the expense report when there was a small knock on his door. He glanced up, only slightly thankful for the distraction. His vision was beginning to swim with all the words in front of him. _

_ “Come in!” He called, and a small head of black hair poked through the door. She gave Bruce a once over, coming to the conclusion that he wasn’t too busy to talk to right now, and fully stepped into the room. “What’s up, Cass?” Bruce asked. It wasn’t like his daughter to fidget, or not look him in the eye. One of the biggest signs of respect between them was eye contact (it had a lot to do with Cass’ only way of communicating being sign), so the fact that she was looking down at her socked feet said a lot about what must be going through her mind. _

_ Bruce slowly stood and rounded the desk, kneeling in front of his daughter. “Cassie? What’s wrong?” Cass still didn’t respond, but she did meet his gaze, looking at him as if the eye contact would give her all the answers she needed. This just worried Bruce even more. _

_ Cass had always been self-assured. It was harder to find things she wasn’t confident about than ones she was. He remembered when she announced she wanted to try ballet, straight shoulders, plain face, just stated that she had found a nice teacher in the area that had a good track record and that she wished to learn the art (a discussion had come later about how she’d known how to find all that information). Bruce had run his own background check on the teacher, and within the next two weeks, Cass was having private lessons. _

_ Even when they’d first gone shopping for things to put in Cass’ room. She had no qualms selecting a beautiful painting of a castle as well as a poster of an NBA team. Bruce had tried to convince her that maybe she should go with more of an overall theme, but she had been adamant about getting what she wanted, and in the long run, he didn’t really see the harm in letting the girl decorate her room the way she wanted. There were much worse things she could be doing than clashing styles. _

_ Bruce was so caught up in thought that he almost missed Cass’ signing. Almost. ‘I like girls.’ _

_ “You like girls?” Bruce asked, just to double-check he understood what she was conveying. The girl bit her lip and gave one stiff nod. “Oh god, Cass. You scared me!” He pulled her into a tight hug. “It doesn’t matter who you like, not to me nor Alfred. As long as you’re happy and they treat you well, I’m happy too.” _

_ Cass pulled back with a small sniffle, wiping away her tears. ‘Thank you.’ _

_ “Of course, Cass. Nothing like that would ever make me mad at you.” He ruffled her hair, which she slightly leaned into. “With that being said, no girlfriends until high school, got it? Eleven is way too young to be dating.” _

_ Cass just giggled and nodded in return. _

_ “C’mon, I think this calls for a celebratory hot chocolate.” He held his hand out and led the two of them downstairs to get some of Alfred’s delicious hot cocoa. The papers could wait to be signed until later. _

A cracking sound pulled Bruce out of his memories, ears ringing from the volume of the sound. "Cass," Bruce gently grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a changing room, dropping the clothes that had been in his hand. Putting an arm around her, he anxiously waited for the gunshots to stop, hoping that meant the police were already there. The city consensus was to stay where you were until a police officer could reach you, however, Bruce noted, it's not always the police that finds you first. Sometimes it's a mob guy with a whacky fashion sense and a gun pointed to your head.

Cass shoved herself tighter into her dad’s hold, staring down the barrel of the gun that was being pointed at her dad’s head. 

“It’s okay, Cass,” Bruce assured as they were forced to kneel. 

“Shut up!” Another guy yelled at a kid, not exactly pistol-whipping him, but still striking him hard enough across the head with his gun to knock him off his knees. The kid’s screaming was cut off, but Bruce had registered that he’d been calling for his parents in the moments before being hit.

The kid groaned, and Bruce looked to the guy holding a gun to his head. “Let the kid be, he’s scared. If you let me take him I’ll make sure he doesn’t cause any trouble.” He refused to let a kid get hurt on his watch.

“Whatever, just get in your group,” he motioned with the gun to where they were depositing everyone into two different sections. Bruce took Cass and the boy’s hand, who was still too dazed to react to a stranger pulling him along.

The three sat together, watching as the mobsters continued rounding up people out of shops, dividing them into equal groups. Bruce counted at least three families that were split up, wanting to punch every goon in the face more and more with every passing second.

It was pretty obvious Two-Face was behind all of this, going off 1.) how the people were being split up and 2.) the mobster’s outfits.

“My parents are over there,” the kid whispered, staring over to the other group.

“What’s your name?” Bruce asked quietly, trying to give the kid a distraction while not drawing any attention from the men with guns.

“Duke,” he muttered back, still not looking up at Bruce. “I just want my parents.”

“I know, kiddo. I’m sure the police are already on their way, okay Duke? Just sit tight.” Bruce wasn’t going to tell the kid that everything would be okay, because he couldn’t be sure of that. When it comes to Gotham Rogues, no one was really safe in any situation. “My name’s Bruce, this is my daughter, Cass.” Duke nodded, but didn’t say anything. “C’mon, kiddo, look at me.”

Duke didn’t have the time to look over before a booming voice rang over everything. Bruce had been right. Two-Face.

He went on his spiel about flipping heads and tails. The group Bruce was in was heads, the other was tails. Two-Face rambled for a good ten minutes about why he was doing this, and how the group chosen would be gassed in the shops. Bruce waited as the time slowly ticked by, wondering where the hell the GCPD was. And then the coin was flipped.

Tails.

Bruce didn’t think Duke registered he was screaming until there was a gun being shoved in his face. He clamped his mouth shut, but his lips trembled as he stared up at the man in front of them. 

When it came time that Duke’s parents were lead into a shop to be gassed, Bruce pulled the kid’s face into his chest. He didn’t need to be seeing this, Bruce knew from first-hand experience. (His heart was breaking for this kid. This poor kid who couldn’t be more than ten, losing his parents. He saw himself in the boy, and vowed right then and there that he’d do everything he could to help Duke.)

Cass came around from Bruce’s other side and wrapped an arm around Duke, rubbing slow circles into his back. Bruce thought he must be doing something right for her to be so selfless in such a scary moment.

The cops got there too late. They did save some people, but not the two people that Duke needed to survive. Bruce stood with him as the cops took their statements, as Duke explained that he had nowhere to go. His aunt lived multiple states over, but Duke wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to take him in if he had a way to get there.

“Cass, stay here, okay?” Bruce instructed as he sat her down on a bench. “I’ll be right back, I won’t go out of sight.” The girl nodded and Bruce kissed her forehead before going over to talk to the commissioner. “Commissioner,” he greeted.

“Mr. Wayne.” Commissioner responded. “Can I help you?” He asked, slightly impatient, sending one of his officers off to get another statement.

“Well, actually, yes you can. There’s a kid, Duke. I know you don’t have any say over where exactly he goes, but I am set up to foster. I am more than willing to bring him into my house until you find a better place for him.”

Three days later, Duke Thomas moved into Wayne Manor.


	4. Cardinal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some insight into Duke's first months at the Manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly unedited again. My friend looked over it but we're both pretty tired, so I can't guarantee either of us did a very good job. It's the start of the school week tomorrow and I work most days after school, so updates with probably be slow going throughout the week. I wish I could give you guys a set update schedule, but I know I won't be able to follow it so I'm not even going to try to get your guys hopes up. Anyway, if you find any errors, feel free to let me know!

The first thing Duke was taught in the Manor was sign language. He figured it was kind of a given after realizing Cass couldn’t talk, but it was extremely difficult for the first few months. The horrible feeling of not wanting to get out of bed, on top of the guilt of skipping a lesson was not a good combination of feelings, nor one that made sense, but he couldn’t _ stop himself _. He constantly wanted to be left alone, and while the other occupants of the house mostly let him, they still made him come downstairs for meals so he was forced to interact with other human beings at least twice a day. 

The second thing Duke was taught in the Manor was how to hide. Well, it wasn’t really taught, more of a learned skill, purely because he wanted to be left alone. He didn’t hate Bruce or Cass or Alfred. In all reality, they were really nice, and he knew his life could be a lot worse right now if the billionaire had never taken him in, but all he could think about was how Bruce _ wasn’t his dad. _So, he took to tunneling into hidey holes throughout the Manor. Alfred usually found him by dinner time, but it helped assure he could be alone most of the morning and the entire afternoon.

This habit didn’t last past the first gala Duke attended. It had been some charity event to raise money for soup kitchens in Crime Alley. Duke, personally, found it dull and slightly insulting. A bunch of rich people dressing up in nice dresses and tuxes, milling around making small talk with half empty champagne flukes in their hands, three fourths of the way to tipsy after one glass. They’d shit themselves if they ever were actually asked to step foot in Crime Alley, much less into a soup kitchen to dedicate precious time, not just money, to help the homeless have a meal once in a while. Still, he figured some type of help was better than nothing.

A little less than halfway through the gala, Duke got fed up with the mingling and having to smile like his heart wasn’t aching to just get in bed and sleep forever. So, he set down his glass full of sparkling cider and started to search for a distraction. 

That distraction just so happened to come in the form of air vents.

Duke slunk his way into a quiet hallway, prying the front off a vent. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and loosened his tie, checking to make sure no one could see him as he did so. Then, he ever so quietly climbed into the air vent and started crawling. He wasn’t really sure where this one would deposit him, but that was always half the fun.

He was nearly a full minute into crawling when he heard a creak from behind him, whipping around to find the culprit. Less than five feet behind him was none other than Cassandra Cain. Once she saw he was looking at her, she started signing something that Duke didn’t quite understand. He just sighed, turned around, and continued crawling. He knew it was probably rude to look away in the middle of her trying to say something, but he wouldn’t have paid attention to anyone yelling down the vents at him either, so he figured it wasn’t discriminatory when it was equal opportunity disrespect.

The two continued on for quite a while. Duke couldn’t be sure exactly how long it’d been, since he opted to leave the expensive watch Bruce had gifted him on his dresser. Now he was sort of regretting it, saying he couldn’t reach into his pocket and pull his phone out to check the time (or call anyone, but that wasn’t really a thought that went through Duke’s mind at any time during this). He wasn’t lost, he adamantly refused to be lost. He could get out, he’d already done this at least twenty times in other rooms throughout the house.

They did eventually find their way out, being deposited right where they had both initially crawled in (it only slightly helped the panic that had settled over Duke like a scratchy blanket.). One thing Duke was _ not _expecting was for Bruce to be waiting outside the vent, looking in disarray. His once perfectly gelled hair was sticking up in a few places, and his bow tie was almost completely undone at this point. His suit jacket was completely unbuttoned, as well as the top two buttons of his dress shirt. Alfred was trying to calm Bruce, as well as the Commissioner.

“Master Bruce, I’m sure they’re around here somewhere.”

“What if they’re _ not, _ Alfred? No one has seen them on over an hour. Someone could’ve taken them. They could be hurt right now and we wouldn’t know because no one’s _ doing anything_.”

“Mr. Wayne, with all due respect, they’re just kids. They probably pried that vent cover off themselves and are roaming through the building. I can get my team to watch the places that this vent leads to, but it’s too small for any grown adult to climb into. The chance that they were abducted through the vents are slim to none."

That moment, Duke half crawled, half fell out of the vent. Bruce whirled around with a slightly crazed look, looking at him with a mix of joy and anger. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted more. One thing was for certain, though, he was pretty happy to see Bruce. The fear that had settled into his stomach for the little while he’d been lost was enough to bring him relief when seeing the man, even if he _ was _angry.

“Duke!” Bruce exclaimed, immediately followed by, “Cass!”

“You two have caused quite the disturbance tonight,” Alfred chastised in a gruff tone.

“Thank you, Commissioner. I think I can handle it from here,” Bruce spoke to the man, but didn’t take his eyes off of either of the kids.

Jim nodded. “It’s no problem, Mr. Wayne.” Duke could tell the man didn’t really want to leave, but he turned and slowly walked back to where the gala was taking place.

Without a second of hesitation, Bruce picked up both of his kids, one under each arm like a football. Duke immediately tried to pry himself out of the hold, yelling that he wasn’t a child and that he could walk himself, but quickly found that Bruce Wayne was a lot stronger than he let on.

“Obviously, I can’t trust you to walk yourself, because you went off for an _ hour _ to play hide and seek in the air vents like a _ child _.” Bruce said in a no-nonsense tone, and Duke immediately knew that there was no way he was going to get out of this until his adopter was ready to set him down.

They were taken to a sitting room upstairs, just another one of the many places that Duke couldn’t find his way to from his room. The Manor was so large that even with all the hidey holes he’d found, he had yet to explore at least half of the house. He really hoped one of them helped him find his way after this, or he’d be stuck sleeping on this couch for lord knows how long.

Bruce sat the both of them down on the couch as he took place in front of them, arms crossed, looking between the two for a minute before finally opening his mouth to speak. “I’m very disappointed in both of you.” Duke knew he shouldn’t, he really did. It was rude and he was in enough trouble as it was, but he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Bruce Wayne was disappointed in him, huge shocker. The man had taken in a kid from the lower middle class and expected him to be perfect. “Duke,” Bruce’s voice lowered.

“I know what you’re going to say! You’re disappointed that we went off and didn’t pay attention to Mr. and Mrs. Boatwrights’ thirty minute speech about how everyone was helping so many homeless people. The same people that they’d _ spit _on if they were to come across them in the real world. You’re mad that I didn’t wanna put up with it, and you’re mad that you lost track of me and that I’m not the perfect son you want me to be. I’m sorry, Bruce. You made the wrong choice! You can send me back now.”

Bruce uncrossed his arms and stepped towards Duke, a look of shock covering his face. “Woah, woah, woah, who said anything about sending you back?” There was a silence, only cut off by the small puffs of air coming from Duke’s worked up lungs. “Duke, I’m not sending you _ anywhere _. You belong here just like Alfred, Cass, and I.” Bruce knelt down in front of him, placing a hand on Duke’s knee that he didn’t have to energy to shove off. “If I’m being quite honest, I agree with you. All these rich people are snobs, but I have to go to galas every now and then to keep good appearances. Trust me, I’d much rather be volunteering my time. Maybe next time I go you can come with? Mrs. Valentino will work you ‘til you’re tired to the bone, but she sure does make a mean chili, and she always makes sure there’s enough left over for the volunteers.”

“You...you volunteer?” Duke questioned, actually stunned by the fact.

“Yes. I try to go at least once a month to a few different kitchens. I can’t always work it into my schedule, but I do my best.” Another pause where Bruce glanced to his daughter, then back to Duke. “And I’m not disappointed because you ran off. I’m just upset because you _ scared _me. I didn’t know what happened to you, and in Gotham, that could mean anything. I looked and asked all over for you and no one has seen where you two went.”

“Well, Bruce, I don’t think Cass really wanted to come…” Duke trailed off, and the other man gave him a confused look that told him to continue talking. “She was trying to stop me...I think. I dunno, she did this.” Duke raised his hands, one flat in front of him while brought the other down on top, as if he were karate chopping his hand. 

Bruce and Cass shared a look before bursting out into laughter. “What?” Duke asked, slightly horrified. “What’d I do?”

Once the two calmed down enough, Bruce explained. “You just signed ‘taco’.” Duke groaned. Cass signed something, which her dad quickly translated. “To be fair, the two are _ very _similar.”

Soon after, Bruce took the kids off to bed, tucking each of them in. “Bruce?” Duke called, right as the man was in the process of walking out the door.

“Yes?” He asked, turning to look at the eight year old.

“Thank you.” 

Bruce just smiled in return. “Get some rest.” And the door clicked behind him.

The next day, Duke went to his lessons with no fuss, as well as both breakfast and dinner. There were still days where it was hard to get out of bed, ones where taking a shower was the biggest accomplishment he could achieve. And Bruce or Alfred always came in with a tray of food, making sure he at least ate a couple bites before letting him be. They never pushed him to be happy, never forced him to smile. 

A few years later, no one would’ve ever suspected the issues Duke once faced. He was the light of a room, people gravitated towards him. Every month when he’d go to the soup kitchen, he’d spend half his time dishing out food, the other half telling stories to kids. Not all of them went over well, street kids could be the hardest crowds to please, but he could tell they were always grateful for the story nonetheless.

Duke was thankful. Always thankful. Never for what happened to his parents, but always for the man that took him in after his life fell the ruins, and slowly helped him rebuild.


	5. Oriole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duke's beginning at his new school is a pretty eventful experience.

Duke’s birthday had come and gone with relative silence. He had a small party with some friends from his old school. Alfred made him a cake (white with strawberry icing, his favorite), and they set up a few superman decorations around the house. They opened gifts, and then the kids were sent outside to play while the adults sat inside and tried to suck up to Brucie Wayne. 

Duke got a few gifts from his friends: a gift card to GameStop, a fifty pack of colored pencils, and a coloring book. He appreciated all of them, even if it was obvious that they kind of gave up after realizing who Duke’s guardian was.

The biggest gift he got was from Bruce, obviously. It was a skateboard, which didn’t really sound like a big deal with the kind of money Bruce called pocket change, but it was. You see, Bruce tried his hardest to not get his kids everything they wanted when they wanted it; it was something Alfred had advised when he’d first adopted Cass. It taught them that they had to earn what they got, and kept them from being spoiled. Duke kind of understood, after overhearing a conversation between Alfred and Bruce about the very subject, but it was still infuriating nonetheless.

So, Duke got his skateboard and a set of stickers to decorate the bottom. (He got yelled at only a handful of times for riding through the house.) 

Everything was going pretty smoothly. He and Cass would go to the park together for an hour or two every day. She’d ride her bike around while he practiced on the ramps. Alfred would sit on a bench and read a book or the paper while they did their thing, then he’d call them to lunch and they’d eat the sandwiches Alfred packed for them. After that, they’d drop their things off in the car and then go on a walk through the woods, Alfred saying that they needed to be out in nature more. Duke just liked whistling and hearing the mockingbirds sing back. Sometimes Cass would tell him a tune he should make them repeat. It was a fun little game for the two of them, and it seemed to please Alfred, too.

It was about a week after Duke’s birthday when things started happening. The new school year was about to start, and the three of them were getting ready to go to open house. Duke would be starting the fourth grade at a brand new school, and the butterflies in his stomach were making him a little queasy (You see, Bruce had let him finish the last school year at his old building. Duke wouldn’t realize until he was older, but Bruce would drive an hour out of his way every day to take him to school that year, just to ensure there wasn’t too much change happening too quickly for Duke). He wasn’t really sure, but he could almost guarantee that there wouldn’t be a lot of kids who liked him at this new school. He didn’t like the uniform shirt, it was itchy and too big for him (Bruce said he would grow into it), and if the galas were anything to go by, he was going to stick out like a sore thumb.

Part of Duke wondered if Bruce would still force him to go to school if he said he just wanted to volunteer at the soup kitchen all day. At least the kids there liked him, and the adults seemed to think he was funny.

Duke was in the midst of complaining to Cass, asking her how she’d adapted to such a different school, when the phone began to ring. At first, he didn’t think anything of it. Alfred usually answered the phone and transferred calls to Bruce accordingly.

‘It’ll be okay, I promise. I was home schooled before I came here. It was a huge difference, but at least you won’t have issues talking to your classmates.’ She didn’t seem angered by it, she was more stating it like a fact of life. Because, well, for her, it was. From what Duke had seen, it was hard for Cass to make friends when someone always had to be interpreting for her, especially when it was someone like Alfred or Bruce doing the talking. He was hoping that maybe he’d be able to help her with that now that they’d be going to the same school together. He wasn’t anywhere near fluent in ASL, but he was a master at finger spelling, and Cass was pretty patient, all things considered. ‘Just try to make some friends on the first day and you should be fine.’ Cass signed as Duke triple checked that his shirt was properly buttoned.

“Master Duke, there’s a call for you,” Alfred announced as he walked into the room.

“For me?” Duke questioned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He’d never had a call before. Not on the home line, at least. He followed Alfred to the phone, holding it up to his ear, still very confused on who could be calling. Did he even know anyone who would have the Manor’s phone number?

“Hello?” He greeted.

“Duke? Oh, it’s so good to hear from you!”

“Aunt Jackie?” He gasped, a wave of shock rolling over him. He hadn’t heard from her since the Christmas before his parents… “How did you know how to call me?”

“It’s nothing, really. Oh, Duke, I’m so sorry. I wanted to be there, I really did, I just couldn’t take care of you.”

“I know, aunt Jackie, it’s okay.” Duke gripped the phone with both hands, staring at a chip in the wall in front of him. A part of him wondered where it came from, whether it developed over time, or if one event was the sole reason it existed.

“Listen, I know you’re probably busy having fun, but I talked to Bruce and I’m going to be coming to visit around Thanksgiving. I know it’s a while away but it’s the only time I could get off for work.”

Duke grinned. From what he could remember, he loved his aunt Jackie. She was always telling the funniest stories, and she had the _ best _pie. “You’re only allowed if you make an apple pie.”

She scoffed. “Like I _ wouldn’t _bring a pie? Especially your favorite? I’m better than that!” He giggled in return. 

“Duke,” Bruce spoke gently from where he was poking his head into the room. “We gotta go.”

Duke nodded, covering the microphone. “I’ll be right there.” He moved his hand away and brought the phone back to his mouth. “Sorry aunt Jackie, I gotta go. We have open house tonight.”

“Okay, sweetie. Just have fun, okay?”

“I will!”

“Oh, and Duke?” She asked after a second, as if she’d been struggling to figure out if she should say something or not.

“Yeah?”

A short pause, in which Duke almost worried that she’d hung up. “Are you happy?”

Duke glanced out the crack in the door at where Cass was signing passionately to Bruce and Alfred. It was something about what she did last weekend with Stephanie. Alfie had a small smile on his face, mostly hidden by his moustache, while Bruce was laughing. Duke couldn’t hear it from where he was, but he could see the small bounce of the man’s shoulder.

“Yeah, Aunt Jackie. I’m happy.”

* * *

Meeting his teachers had been a breeze for Duke. Generally, he enjoyed school and got along with his superiors, and since he was only in the fourth grade, he only had two teachers to meet (A small number compared to Cass’ five). Open house was the easy part, the first day of school was hell on earth.

Duke woke up to his alarm, already drowsy and wanting to go back to sleep. Instead, he rolled over, shut off his alarm, and slowly pushed himself up. He rubbed at his eyes, yawned, stretched, and hopped out of bed. When his feet hit hardwood his eyes flew open, surveying his surroundings.

Oh right, the Manor.

Sometimes when Duke first woke up, or was really sleepy at the end of the day, he forgot that he no longer lived in the apartment with his parents. He forgot that his floors were hardwood instead of carpet. He forgot his walls were a soft blue, instead of an odd creme. He couldn’t hear his mom’s humming from the kitchen as she fixed him breakfast. Both because she wasn’t there, and because the kitchen was too far away from his room anyway.

He heaved a small sigh, forcing his heart to slow back down before treading over to his closet. He pulled out one of his uniforms and quickly got changed.

The rest of the morning was pretty standard. A breakfast of eggs, toast, and a glass of milk. He was then sent to brush his teeth, get his bookbag set up, and then come back downstairs and get his shoes on. Bruce would be dropping them off today, but usually after the first week it would be Alfred’s duty.

Cass and Duke were forced to take a picture right next to the front door. Cass’ all-teeth grin showed off one of her front teeth halfway grown in, while Duke just settled for a close-mouthed smile.

Bruce dropped them off in front of the school, just like all the other kids. He wished them a good day, watched them walk in, and then he was gone. Just like that.

Duke glanced around at all the kids milling about. _ Okay, calm down Duke. You’re chill, everything’s chill. No one’s even looking at you, they’re all too busy greeting their friends from last year... Friends that you don’t have. Stop that! _

Cass patted Duke’s shoulder, making him jump. ‘C’mon, I’ll drop you off at your class.’

“I can get there by myself,” Duke argued half-heartedly. He really wouldn’t mind Cass walking him. If she did, he wouldn’t be alone quite so soon. He could pretend like it was his old school and he’d walk down the hall and see Mia and Isabella and they’d sit together in their class and annoy the teacher with their talking.

‘I’m taking you to your class.’ Cass deadpanned, gently grabbing his sleeve and pulling him along.

In no time, Duke had been deposited in his classroom and was looking for his desk. Mr. Monroe had taped name tags onto the desks, neatly scrawling each of their names across it in marker. Duke’s tag had an apple with a grinning worm sticking out of it, and he wondered for a second if he’d ever actually seen a worm inside an apple. After a few moments of pondering he came to the conclusion that no, he’d never seen anything like that before, but he would definitely take a picture if he were to ever run across such a thing.

Duke had draped his book bag over the back of his seat and sat down before he realized where his desk was located in the classroom. Right next to the teacher. _ Great _. He internally groaned. No one was gonna want to talk to him with the teacher sitting right there!

As Duke was in the midst of panicking, a girl in a wheelchair rolled in. She had pretty red hair and a purple cat pin on her shirt (Duke didn’t think that was allowed). She searched for her name, ending up right next to Duke, at the only desk that was closer to the teacher. 

She began to pull the chair out from in front of the desk so she could properly wheel herself in front of it, but the leg ended up getting caught on one of the wheels. “Here, let me help.” Duke stood, tilting the chair just the right way to get it unstuck.

“Thanks,” she responded as he set the chair against the wall behind her. He couldn’t really tell if she was being serious or not, so he decided to just introduce himself instead of saying ‘you’re welcome’.

“I’m Duke,” he greeted as he quickly settled back into his seat.

“Barbara,” she returned the favor.

The bell rang and Mr. Monroe walked into the classroom. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the fourth grade.”

* * *

Duke only saw Cass once during the school day, and it wasn’t even enough time to talk to her. They passed in the hall as he was going to lunch and she was leaving. When she saw him, she grinned and waved, Stephanie joining in a moment later when she spotted who her friend was greeting.

Once Duke’s class was set free in the lunchroom, he had no idea what to do. Most kids found their friends and immediately sat with them, already chatting away between bites of food. He realized no one would probably really care if he asked to sit with them, but he was still afraid to even approach anyone, much less get the question out. There was always the horror that someone thought he was a weirdo. However, on top of all that, Duke was also scared of being stared at if he took too long to sit down, so he quietly scanned for someone he recognized.

That person just so happened to be Barbara.

“Is this seat taken?” He asked, pointing to the seat to her left.

“No,” she responded, taking a second to look at Duke. She’d been halfway through unwrapping what looked to be a peanut butter and jelly when he’d asked.

“Cool,” he said in a totally uncool way, placing his lunch box down before sitting. “So...how do you like Mr. Monroe?”

“He’s nice. He reminds me of Ms. Walters.” She took a bite of her sandwich, leaving a few crumbs on the corner of her mouth. Duke didn’t say anything about it.

“Hm,” Duke hummed, awkwardly biting into one of his cheese crackers. “This is my first year here, so I don’t know who that is.”

“She was my second grade teacher. I think she moved over the summer, though.”

Duke nodded, watching as Barbara pulled a rice crispy treat out of her lunch bag. “Hey, I’ll trade you!” He quickly searched through his bag and pulled out his scooby gummies. She grinned.

“Deal.” They traded snacks and continued eating in solidarity. 

“So, if this is your first year, where did you go before this?”

“Oh, I, uh, I actually moved here from Hilltop. I could’ve started here last year, but it would’ve been the middle of the year, and I didn’t wanna do that.”

Barbara nodded in understanding. “I wouldn’t either.” She took a sip from her water bottle. “How did you get into a private school if you when to such a poor school last year?” She didn’t seem to mean it as an insult, but it still stung. “I mean, the only reason I get to go here is because of some scholarship thingy from Bruce Wayne, so I was just curious.”

Duke swallowed, honestly not sure how to start his next sentence. “I actually moved in with Bruce...Wayne.” He tacked Wayne on at the end as if it would help make Barbara believe him more.

“Oh!” She exclaimed loudly enough that Duke looked around to ensure no one was staring. “I know who you are! You’ve met my dad. He’s the Commissioner. He’s mentioned you a couple of times.”

“I didn’t know that was legal.”

“I think you’re thinking of therapists.” 

She was right. He was.

The subject changed and the two continued to chatter for the rest of the lunch period. Then, they went outside for recess and sat together there, too. Duke used chalk to draw on the ground, as Barbara instructed him on what to make next.

After only a few days, the two were practically inseparable.

* * *

Thanksgiving rolled around pretty quickly, and Duke was shocked by that fact. When the school year was just starting, he thought he’d never make it to Thanksgiving break, but here he was, the day before the big holiday, waiting in the airport with Bruce for his aunt Jackie. The two sat and chatted a little, about how school was going and the plans for the short break.

“I know you moved into the Manor after all the holidays last year, so I just thought I’d let you know: every year we each light a wax candle,” Bruce began, and Duke looked up from the game he’d been playing on his phone to gaze at the older man. This seemed like an important conversation. “It’s a symbol for the people we’ve lost. I’ve heard some people think it draws their spirits to us, others just use it as a sign of respect for those who’ve passed on. Alfred and I always lit them when I was a kid, and Cass has since she’s lived with us. I’ve already bought the candles for this year, and there’s one for you. For your parents. If you’re interested.”

Duke inhaled deeply. “Okay.” He nodded. He wasn’t sure if it would help lessen the pain he’d been feeling for the past week, but he’d try. (His family had never even done anything for the Fourth of July, but he’d still sobbed his eyes out for the first hour he was awake that day. Halloween was hard, but not so bad because he got to dress up as the Flash and get candy. Plus Cass worked hard to distract him with a scaring contest. (Whoever scared the other more by the end of the day got to take five pieces of candy from the others basket. Cass won.) Thanksgiving was all about reflecting on the things God had given you, at least that’s what Duke’s parents used to say, and he wasn’t really ready to reflect on the past year quite yet. Now, he wasn’t even sure if he really believed in God anymore. He prayed. He prayed three times a day after they died, and he still prayed sometimes now, but he was starting to give up. What kind of God would take his parents away like that? What kind of God would let his aunt just abandon him? The only good thing God had given Duke in the past year was Bruce, Cass, and Alfred. They were the only thing keeping his belief alive.)

“You don’t have to, kiddo. It’s up to you.”

“I know,” Duke nodded, going back to the game on his phone. “I’ll do it.”

“Okay,” Bruce nodded, rubbing Duke’s shoulder for a few seconds before putting his hands back into the pockets of his jacket.

It was another fifteen minutes before aunt Jackie came into view. As soon as she spotted Duke she started running towards him, arms stretched out. He jumped up and quickly returned the hug as his aunt picked him up and whirled him around. “Ohhhh, I missed you so much!” She exclaimed after she finally set him down, holding him out at arms lengths to give him a once over. “You’ve grown so much!”

Duke giggled. “I missed you, too, aunt Jackie.”

“I’m sure you’re exhausted from your flight,” Bruce began as he took Jackie’s luggage for her. “Let’s head out. Alfred’s probably working on dinner already. You can get a nice meal before bed.”

“That’d be wonderful,” she said as she took Duke’s hand, following Bruce out to the car. 

The ride home was filled with mostly small talk between Bruce and Jackie. Duke piped up every now and then with a comment, but mostly remained quiet. Sometime during the half an hour trip, he ended up dozing off. He was awoken to being placed on someone’s hip, and he looked around just enough to realize it was Bruce’s. With a small puff of a sigh, he buried his face into the man’s shoulder and fell back asleep, knowing he’d be woken up for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know the timeline may be a bit confusing so here's what happened so far and the approximate timing.
> 
> Two years ago, Cass was adopted. Around ten months after that was when she was diagnosed with aphasia, and then nearly two years after she was adopted was when Duke's parents were killed at the mall. That was around mid January.
> 
> Duke moved into Wayne Manor three days after his parents died. The first month was when he was hiding throughout the manor, and about a month and a half to two months into living there was when the event at the gala happened. He started going to his lessons and the soup kitchen with Bruce more often. He barely scraped by third grade, but he made it through and advanced to fourth.
> 
> Duke's birthday happened over that summer, and then he was enrolled in the private school. The day of opening house, he got the call from his aunt. The first day of school (around the middle of August) he meets Babs. Then there's a pretty big jump to the day before Thanksgiving at the end of this chapter.
> 
> I hope that clears up any confusion there might be on the timing of how this story has played out so far!
> 
> Next chapter I'm hoping to have more scenes with Cass. I kinda feel bad because I've been focusing on Duke so much, but I have plans for her soon!
> 
> Any ideas on what's going on with Aunt Jackie? Leave me your predictions, I'd love to see them!


	6. Hummingbird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving with Duke's aunt. Nothing can go wrong, right?

Duke and Cass were forced out of the kitchen for the whole day so Alfred could focus on cooking. That meant Duke had ample time to be with his aunt, and yet he stayed away for most of the day. It wasn’t really anything like he disliked her; He just didn’t know how to talk to her, or what to talk about. After all, it _ had _been nearly a full year since he’d last seen her, and even longer since he’d actually sat down and had a conversation with her. Usually she seemed stressed before coming over to talk to Mom and Dad. They’d sit down and open a bottle of wine (something his parents usually had him leave the room during), and a little while later she’d be happy. He would always remember the smell of fruit that burned his nose that would emanate around her whenever she got in his bubble.

Instead of staying inside, he and Cass went into the backyard to play most of the day away. They played their version of soccer, a game of HORSE, and then for a short while, they collected leaves and sticks to make houses for rolly pollies. It was around that time that Cass and Duke had a chance (and free hands) to talk.

‘I haven’t seen you talk to your aunt much.’

“Yeah,” Duke responded quietly as he gently took a rolly polly into his hand and set it on one of the leaves of their new house. “I just figured she’d want to stay inside and talk to the grown-ups. She’s going to be here for the next few days, so I can talk to her then.” Duke wasn’t avoiding her, he wasn’t. He just knew she’d be more happy talking to Bruce. She’d always asked about him whenever she called: how he was doing, how he was treating Duke, if he planned to adopt him soon. 

She brought up that question a lot, actually. Bruce hadn’t officially adopted Duke yet; He was only a ward. Bruce had explained when he first brought Duke in that he wouldn’t adopt him until he was ready; Bruce wanted to honor Duke’s parents and the fact that the three of them had a good relationship, so he only became Duke’s legal guardian for the time being. Duke had tried explaining this to her, but she still seemed to think Bruce would make the final decision on when that happened.

‘She seems nice.’

“She is. Her and my mom used to talk a lot, so I saw her a lot when I was a kid. She moved a couple years ago, so I haven’t seen her much since then.” He leaned back on his hands and watched some of the bugs crawling around. They hadn’t been able to find many, since it was getting cold, but they’d found enough to make their home worth it.

Cass tapped his shoulder and he glanced over, not even realizing he hadn’t been paying attention. ‘Do you want her here?’

That question made Duke uncomfortable. He felt like the rolly pollies had started crawling on his skin, but when he looked down, there weren’t any on his body. He looked back and she nodded, as if he’d already said something in response to the question.

“Cass! Duke!” Bruce called from the door, causing the kids to turn to see what the man needed. “Foods almost done! Come inside and get cleaned up!”

The two jumped up and ran inside to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Oddly, a part of Duke was happy they’d been called in before he could answer Cass’s question. He loved his aunt; She was the last living family he had. It was just... weird having her here. Yeah, that was it.

* * *

Bruce loved both Cass and Duke. Even if Duke wasn’t quite ready to return the sentiment, he loved both kids like they were his own. That’s why it didn’t quite escape his notice how uncomfortable Duke seemed to be around his aunt.

Whenever the woman had been brought up before now, Duke had seemed happy to talk about her and excited for her visit. Now that she was here, though, he was quiet and drawn into himself, something pretty unlike the kid. Even when he was missing his parents, he tended to act out, not withdraw from the rest of them. Because of this, Bruce had his defenses up, both for himself and his family. He didn’t think she would purposefully hurt anyone, but it was Gotham, and living here his whole life had taught the man that you can never be too careful.

That’s why Bruce had Alfred cut her off after her third glass of wine. That’s also why, after dinner, when she said she wished to talk to Duke in private, he stuck close. Not close enough to bring their attention to him, nor to overhear their entire conversation, but still enough to monitor things and make sure Duke was okay.

Duke sat on his bed, hands shoved under his thighs. His aunt softly clicked the door shut behind her and turned to look over Duke’s room. They sat in silence for a few seconds as she looked over his belongings, and he followed her gaze. His skateboard was off in one corner, leaning against the wall with the bottom facing out so the stickers were showing. He had an assortment of logos for members of the JLA on the bottom, including the Flash, Superman, Wonderwoman, and Green Lantern. 

His walls were a soft blue and mostly barren right now. There was a painting on the wall that had been there before Duke had arrived, and he’s never cared to ask anyone to take it down. Aside from that, there was a single poster of a cat that Isabella had gotten for him before the end of the school year. (Yes, it said ‘hang in there!’)

His desk was the most cluttered part of his room. There was homework strewn across it, as well as some drawings and a coloring book. There was a pen holder, but it was over half empty with how many of the utensils were on the desk’s surface or fallen to the floor.

His bookshelf had an assortment of books Bruce had bought him, as well as some of the things he kept from his apartment when they were emptying it out. There were a couple snow globes his mom liked to collect, a purple bowl Duke thinks his dad said he’d made in his tenth grade pottery class, and a few pictures of his parents. 

Alone on the top shelf sat a picture of Duke with both his parents. It had been taken during his ninth birthday party. He was in the middle of the picture, leaning forward to blow out his candles; His dad was on his left and his mom on the right. They were both grinning at him and he’d been completely oblivious at the time, too caught up in blowing out his candles and eating cake to appreciate everything they did for him. 

Now they were gone, and Duke would never be able to see them smile again.

His aunt walked over and stood in front of it, just staring a few seconds before turning back to Duke. 

“You know I love you, right?” She started off, shoving her hands into the front pockets of her nice jeans.

“Of course I do, aunt Jackie. I love you, too.”

She nodded and looked away, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she thought. Duke continued to sit, waiting for her to go on.

“When your parents died...I was distraught. I wasn’t okay. I knew I couldn’t take care of you the way you needed to be, the way I _ should _. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want you to be alone, so when I heard Bruce was offering to take you in, I let him. He reached out to me a few weeks after they died, offered to fly me in so I could see you. I...I couldn’t. I was afraid you’d be mad at me, so I stayed home, told him I’d think about it and call him back.” She paused to swallow, eyes wet with unshed tears. “I did talk to him a month or two later, he told me how you were doing. I still...I don’t know why but I still couldn’t talk to you.”

“I thought...when you called I thought you had _ just _started talking to Bruce? That’s the way you made it sound.”

Aunt Jackie paused a second. “I didn’t mean for it to come off that way if it did.”

“How long did you talk to him before you called me?” Duke asked loudly, his hands turning into fists under his legs. 

She paused.

“How long?” Duke shouted.

“I don’t know!” She responded, throwing her hands up. “Three, four months?”

“You talked to him that long and didn’t think I’d want to hear from you?”

“I didn’t know if you’d be mad or not! You’d been through so much, I wouldn’t blame you if you were. Look, I didn’t come here to talk about all the ways I messed up, I just wanna try to make it up to you, Duke. Look, Bruce doesn’t have full custody of you. I can go to the state and say I want to take you, want you to move in with me. I could take you back to Pennsylvania.”

Duke gaped a bit. “You want me to go home with you?”

“I think it’d be best. We’re the only family we have now, and Bruce can’t raise you the way you should be.”

“What’s _ that _supposed to mean?” Duke questioned, slipping off of his bed so he was standing across from his aunt.

“I want you to be happy, Duke, but all you’re going to do here is become spoiled. I want you to grow up to appreciate the things you have.”

“Bruce doesn’t spoil me! Just because he has money doesn’t mean he spends all of it on me or Cass. I volunteer at a soup kitchen at least once a month, more if we have time. He’s helping me keep their memory alive!” He motioned towards the picture over his aunts shoulder. “Maybe you’d know that if you actually talked to me about my life! Maybe you’d know that if you talked to me about me instead of asking about Bruce all the time, trying to see if he’d adopted me yet.” 

A sense of dread settled into Duke’s stomach as realization washed over him. “You only called me to check and see if you could still take me home with you.”

“Duke, that’s not true.” She took a step towards him, almost desperately, but Duke stood his ground. “Yes, I was worried about that, but I still care about you and what’s going on in your life.”

“Are you sure? Because every time you called all you were worried about was Bruce. Tell me, aunt Jackie. Just tell me the truth. Why didn’t you take me in right after they died?”

“Duke, please. I was telling the truth. I was mourning, I-”

“What do you think I was doing?” Duke snapped. She got quiet. “I watched them die! I was there! I watched them walk into the shop! I heard the screams, _ their _screams! I needed you! I needed you and you weren’t there! Bruce helped me. He understood because he lost his parents, too.” He was seething, tears trailing down his cheeks. “Just get out.” 

“Duke-”

“Get out!” He screamed, stomping over to thrust the door open, the poor thing creaking a bit with the speed of it. “Get out!” He yelled again when she wouldn’t move. 

“Duke, just listen to me, please. I’m sorry!”

“Get out!” He screamed.

Neither of them even realized Cass was in the room until his aunt was being yanked towards the door by the twelve year old. She was trying to sign something to Duke, but it wasn’t working out too well with how adamant she was about getting the woman out the door.

Bruce was there is seconds, assessing the situation from the hallway. “Cass,” he started, trying to gently pry the girl off. “Cassie, get off her.” Cass let go, replacing the woman’s shirt in her hand with rapid sign. From what Duke could understand, she was thoroughly cussing out his aunt.

“What happened?” He asked the other two as he set Cass down in the hallway, not quite sure he’d get a straight answer from her through all her anger at the moment. 

“She wants me to go home with her. I wanna stay here, and I want her to leave.” Duke said plainly, tears still steadily streaming. He wasn’t sure he could take having her in the Manor much longer.

“I was just trying to give Duke his options. I told him it’d probably be best if he went with me, since we’re family.” His aunt was currently trying to fix her shirt from Cass’ earlier attack.

“Jackie, I think it’d be best if you left.” Bruce still had a hand on Cass’ shoulder, face stony. This wasn’t the face of Bruce Wayne, father of two. This was the face of Bruce Wayne, CEO to Wayne Enterprises. He was all business. 

Jackie looked stunned, like she’d never thought Bruce would take a kids side in the argument. “Where am I going to go? It’s late Thanksgiving in _ Gotham _.”

“I will find you a safe hotel outside of the city. Alfred will drive you there, and I’ll arrange an earlier flight for you tomorrow or Saturday.”

She scoffed. “Can I at least have a moment to say goodbye to my nephew?”

“I think the two of you have had plenty of time alone already. Go get your things ready, you’ll be leaving in a half an hour.”

His aunt glanced at him, but he didn’t look back. He didn’t think he could look at her right now without breaking down. Instead of saying anything, she just shook her head and walked out of the room, brushing past Bruce’s shoulder. 

Cass ran over and pulled Duke into a bone crushing hug as soon as his aunt was gone, and he meekly returned it. 

Bruce glanced down the hall then stepped into the room for a second. “Duke, we’ll talk about everything that happened after I get everything set up for your aunt and she’s gone, okay?”

Duke nodded, feeling almost like he was in trouble, even though he knew Bruce probably wouldn’t punish him for wanting his aunt to leave. 

Bruce left to work on getting a hotel and a flight set out, while Cass stayed with Duke. 

* * *

The man found the two kids in the theater room an hour later. They were watching _ ‘The Road to El Dorado’ _and, thankfully, Duke seemed to be less upset. His face was still puffy from earlier, but he wasn’t actively crying like he had been when Bruce had first arrived at the scene of Duke’s room.

They were just at the part where Miguel and Tulio were talking about how they’d been mistaken for Gods. Bruce looked at his kids as he walked in. “It’s an entire city of suckers,” he quoted word for word, the exact same way Tulio said it in the movie. (Cass has made Bruce watch that movie about half a million times in the nearly three years since she’d been adopted.) Cass’ shoulder moved with a chuckle, as Duke gave out a little bit of a breath.

“You two mind pausing for a minute so we can talk?” Duke knew that ‘we’ meant _ him. _

Cass paused the movie and nodded, and Duke stood up without a second thought. Bruce lead him to a room a couple doors down. It was the same room Duke and Cass had been sat down in after the air vent incident at the gala, although this time Bruce sat down with him instead of towering over him.

“You’re not in trouble, Duke. I just wanna know what exactly happened, get the story straight in case your aunt _ does _try to take me to court over anything.”

“Do you think she would?” Duke asked immediately, worried that he’d started something that wouldn’t end well.

“I don’t know, but I’m prepared if she does. The court knows I took you in voluntarily, and I’m a lot better off than she is. If you want to stay here, then I can make it so you stay.” Bruce was sitting so he was turned towards Duke, back against the armrest and a leg tucked under him.

“I do, I wanna stay. You and Cass and Alf...I still miss my parents. I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing my parents, but you guys have helped me so much. I can’t just leave you guys.”

“And you won’t have to, I promise. Just tell me what happened, okay? Take as much time as you need.”

Duke took about fifteen minutes to explain the fight. Looking back, it hadn’t been that long, but it had felt like an eternity when it was happening. “And then you came in and, well, you know the rest.” He finished. He hadn’t started crying this time, but it was because he’d paused at least four times throughout telling the story to keep himself from doing so. 

Bruce rubbed his shoulder. “Okay, thank you for telling me.” He paused for a second, and then spoke again. “Is there anything you want to talk to me about?”

Duke was quiet. There were a lot of things he wanted to talk to Bruce about. Questions to ask, things to scream at him, most of them were things he knew he should keep to himself for the time being. A couple questions, though, were too loud in Duke’s head to ignore. 

“My aunt said you guys talked some before she actually talked to me. Is that true?”

“Yes,” Bruce responded without hesitation. “A lot of the calls weren’t long, she’d just ask about you, mostly.”

“Did you know she was going to ask me to move in with her?” He asked this question with a little more hesitation. He wasn’t trying to blame Bruce, he just wanted to know.

“...Kind of?” At Duke’s slight flinch, he continued. “Let me explain, please. I wasn’t aware she’d ask you to move in permanently, nor did I think she’d ask you in private. We had, however, talked about you spending a summer or two there. It was nothing set in stone, and it was supposed to be completely voluntary on your part. We were supposed to discuss it with you, the three of us, over the weekend. So, no, I didn’t know she’d ask you to move for good and in the way she did, but I knew that there was a possibility that you'd be spending some time in Pennsylvania with her.”

A part of Duke was mad at Bruce for keeping it quiet. Another part was just tired and didn’t want to talk about this right now. “Okay,” he responded with a nod.

“Here, we can talk about this more later. Why don’t you go finish that movie with Cass?”

Duke nodded and pushed himself off the couch. He wasn’t really in the mood to finish a movie, but he didn’t want to leave Cass waiting, so he walked back and they watched the rest. Well, Cass did. Duke fell asleep less than twenty minutes after sitting down.

* * *

It was a couple of days later when Duke approached Bruce again about what happened. Bruce was in the library typing away at something on his computer. He had his reading glasses on, and Duke almost didn’t bother him, since he was most likely working on something for WE. 

“I was looking for a break anyway,” Bruce said as if reading Duke’s mind, making the boy nearly jump out of his skin. The older man slid his laptop onto the end table, folding his glasses and setting them on top. “Did you want to talk?”

Duke quietly walked over, sitting down next to him on the small sofa. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Bruce nodded but remained silent other than that. He was obviously waiting for Duke to start.

Duke had been doing a lot of thinking since his aunt left. What if his aunt tried to gain custody of him? At this point it was pretty unlikely, and she probably wouldn’t win either way, but that fear had stuck with Duke ever since she left. 

Duke didn’t want to live with his aunt. Honestly, he didn’t want to live with _ anyone _ that wasn’t Bruce. He understood what Duke was going through, he gave Duke space when he needed it, and was there with open arms every other time. Duke couldn’t ask for anything more than that. He knew he was lucky, _ really _lucky to have been taken in by Bruce, a man who cared for him so much.

With all that in mind, he’d made a decision at around 3 am the previous night. He’d barely gotten any sleep, mentally going through how the conversation would go. He had crafted the perfect words to announce this, but now, sitting in front of the man, all those words left him. All that remained was the desperate feeling in his heart to _ stay _.

“I want you to adopt me.”

There was a moment of silence after that. Duke couldn’t tell if he’d just stunned Bruce, or if it was something else. Either way, a sense of dread started to build up in his chest as he waited for the man’s response.

Duke shifted to try to get a look at Bruce’ face so he could gauge why he hadn’t said anything yet. It was at that moment, in the Manor’s west-wing library, at 11:16 AM, that Duke witnessed Bruce Wayne cry for the first time.

“Bruce? What’s wrong?” He asked quickly, leaning closer.

“Nothing’s wrong, Duke.” He wiped the tears from his face with one hand and pulled Duke into his side. “Nothing at all.”


	7. Flame Robin

Bruce was adamant about celebrating Duke’s adoption. It had been about a week since it happened, and the media was still kind of freaking out about it (even though Duke had been in Bruce’s custody for nearly a full year at this point).

Duke and Cass had been in the living room working on homework, Alfred sitting across from them to help with any questions they may have. He was working on math when Bruce got home, immediately making his way to the living room. That in itself rose suspicion because usually the man went to his room or office and dropped off his things before finding his family.

The three looked over as Bruce set his briefcase down, keeping one hand behind his back. “What’s behind your back?” Duke asked, right around the same time Cass signed something of the same sentiment.

“It’s your adoption day gift.” He grinned as he stepped closer. Once he was right next to Alfred, he moved his hand to show what he’d been hiding. 

Four tickets to the circus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't much at all, but it's been a few days and I wanted to give you guys something. Here is a little bit of an interlude to lead into the next chapter!


	8. Scarlet Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family goes to the circus as celebration for Duke’s adoption.

Everything was almost overwhelming. The flashing lights, the sounds, the smell of peanuts mingled with sweat.

Duke loved it.

They had arrived a little bit early so they could take pictures. The performers were lined up one after the other, and there were already lines forming to get pictures with all of them. There was the sword thrower, a clown, the acrobats, and even the elephant was in the line up for pictures.

“Who do you want to meet first, Master Duke?” Alfred asked.

Duke glanced down the line for another few seconds, eye’s landing quickly on his decision. “The acrobats!” He grabbed Alfred’s hand and started pulling him towards the family excitedly. 

“Slow down Master Duke, we have plenty of time.” Even with the warning, a smile still adorned the butler’s face. He was obviously very happy to share this moment with his family. 

Bruce and Cass followed the two closely. This place was big enough that if they were to get separated, they could lose track of each other very quickly, especially once it started filling up more and more.

They waited in line for about ten minutes. Duke tried talking to the kid in front of him in line, but she stayed pretty quiet. Duke just assumed she was shy and stopped trying. He and his family talked about what they were most excited about for the performance. Cass said she was eager to eat all the cotton candy she could get her hands on, while Duke expressed his love for the elephant. 

With their talking, the time passed quickly and suddenly it was their turn to take a picture. Duke and Cass each stood on one side of the boy, his parents standing behind them. They were all in matching leotards, and the three also had the same lilt to their voice when they spoke. They all talked to the family in English, but among themselves in a different language that Duke didn’t know nor really cared to. He was too excited to wonder what they were saying to one another in private.

Bruce snapped multiple pictures of his kids with the Grayson family. They all thanked the family and wished them luck on their performance before moving on to take more pictures. By the time the tent had filled with people and the performance was beginning, they’d basically forgotten about that first picture they’d taken.

The acts passed quickly. The lion tamer, the stilt walker, the wheel of death. The first hour and a half of the performance went by in a blur, and suddenly it was time for the final act before the show’s finale. The trapeze artists took their place way up high in the sky. They waved to the audience before, suddenly but with ease, the mother and father were flying through the air. They flipped back and forth, mesmerizing the crowd.

The father was hanging onto the bar by his legs, supporting the mother as she outstretched her hands. It was obvious she was reaching for her son, whose hands were out, just waiting to get a good grip before joining them in flying.

That contact never came.

Duke wasn’t really sure what happened. People started scrambling about, screaming. They seemed to be surging towards the exits, and Duke couldn’t see past all the people to understand what was happening. Bruce and Alfred were trying to say something, to grab both Cass and Duke so they didn’t get lost. 

The crowd grew, more and more people trying to get out of the tent all at once. Duke’s ten year old frame didn’t stand a chance against the wave of adults. Within seconds, he couldn’t see Alfred, Cass, or Bruce anywhere. 

He started panicking, his breath picking up pace as he whirled around to find his family. He called out for them with no luck, being shoved back and forth by the people rushing around him. No one even seemed concerned about the fact that he wasn’t with anyone. No one stopped to ask if he was okay, if he needed help, they just kept going.

“Mom?” Duke heard another kid call out. “Dad?” He looked around to try to find where the voice was coming from. 

Duke pushed through the crowd, ignoring the annoyed ‘hey!’s to keep pushing through more people. He wasn’t sure how long it took, but eventually he found the kid who was crying out for her family. It was the same kid he’d been behind in the line to take pictures with the Grayson family.

“Hey,” he said softly, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She whipped around, immediately pulling out of the grasp, eye’s wide. “Hey, sorry.” The place was beginning to empty out a little, and the two were now on the outskirts of the crowd still surging to the exits. “My name’s Duke, are you looking for your parents?”

The girl looked so young, just a toddler. She quickly nodded in response to his question, shuffling a little closer to him. “I’m looking for mine, too. Why don’t we stick together and help each other?” She just nodded again. “Can I know your name?”

“Jennifer,” she responded so quietly that Duke almost didn’t catch it. 

“Jennifer. That’s pretty.”

“Jen,” she mumbled, wrapping a fist in his shirt.

“Jen, that’s cool too. Okay, Jen, why don’t we start going to the doors? Maybe when we get outside we can find an adult who can help up.”

She nodded, but didn’t let go of Duke’s shirt, making it a very awkward shuffle the few steps that they tried to take like that. 

“Here, can I take your hand?” He gently pried her hand off his shirt and wrapped it around his.

The two slowly made their way to the exits, Duke making sure to stay behind the crowd. When they got closer, he finally got a chance to see what happened. His breath hitched, and he nearly fell to his knees in sorrow. The only thing that kept him going was the little hand in his and the fact that he kept having to make his steps smaller so she could keep up.

He quickly turned his head away from the scene, trying to keep Jen from looking over. The police would be here soon, and she didn’t need to be seeing that kind of thing.

“Are they dead?” She asked quietly. Duke looked down and saw that she was still looking ahead, hadn’t even glanced over. She must’ve seen it earlier, had a better view than Duke.

“Yes,” he responded just as quietly. The blood was the worst part. So much blood. It was pooled around their bodies, mingling into one large puddle. Duke’s brain wanted to make it fake, like the blood he’d seen on a horror movie one night when his parents were asleep. He’d gone crying into their bedroom, and the next day they’d told him that _ that _was the reason they’d told him not to watch scary movies. He knew this was real, though. The boy he’d met hours ago had now lost his family. Hopefully he had someone to go to, someone better than Duke’s aunt.

“Okay,” the girl responded, and Duke quickly realized she’d probably never seen death, didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. Duke wished he could be like her sometimes, so naive to death that it barely affected him, that he could blink in the face of it and turn around like nothing had happened. A different, horrible part of him wished she understood, wished she had experienced something like that so she could grasp how horrible this was. He quickly cut off the thoughts, though. She’d experience it later in life no matter what, she didn’t deserve that kind of thing right now. 

They _ finally _got outside and Jen almost immediately said “Mom.” She didn’t exclaim it, didn’t call it out, just announced her presence to Duke. He started walking over, waiting for Jen’s parents to notice them and run over, relieved to find their daughter. 

When they looked over, it wasn’t relief that came over their faces.

It was anger.

They came over and grabbed Jen’s other hand, making Duke drop the one that had been gripping onto him when they yanked her away. “I can’t believe you. First, you get separated from us, and then you find someone like _ him _to help you outside.” There was a venom in the word ‘him’ that Duke had only heard before on TV. He wasn’t really sure what the woman meant by the tone, but he was certain it wasn’t good.

No one seemed to be paying attention to the scene in front of him, to what they’d said, or how they were pulling their daughter around like a rag doll. No one cared.

“You’re hurting her!” He yelled, noticing the way Jen’s mom was gripping her wrist. “Stop it!”

Her dad whirled around to snarl at Duke. “Don’t tell us how to reprimand our daughter, _ boy _. You’ll understand when you’re older. Now go, run along to your parents.”

He wanted to stay, wanted to help, but he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t stand up against Jen’s parents since he was just a kid, and he still needed to find Bruce. Maybe Bruce could help if Duke found him and told him what was happening. So, he turned away from the family and started looking for his own.

Duke came across the Commissioner before he came across his family. “Commissioner,” he started, getting the man’s attention. “Have you seen Bruce?” Everything started crashing down on him once he finally saw a somewhat familiar face, little hiccuping sobs surfacing from somewhere deep in his sternum. He needed his family. He needed his _ dad _.

“Duke! They’re waiting for you, give me one second.” Gordon grabbed another officer, quickly telling her where Bruce was. Once he finished, he turned back to Duke. “I need to get inside, but Officer Bradley is going to take you to Bruce, okay?”

Duke nodded, wiping away some of the tears that were making their way down his cheeks. Officer Bradley seemed like a nice woman, but all he wanted was his family.

It didn’t take more than a minute for her to lead him to everyone. Once his family was in sight, he quickly ran ahead of her. Cass drew Bruce’s attention to Duke, who quickly whirled around, anxiety melting off his face as soon as he saw the kid.

“Duke, thank god you’re okay,” he mumbled as soon as the boy was in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” Duke cried into Bruce’s shoulder.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, kiddo. You got lost, and now you’re here. That’s all that matters.”

Alfred talked to the officer, thanking her for helping them as Bruce reassured Duke that everything was fine.

Duke only remembered Jen when they were in the car, halfway back to the Manor. Guilt overtook him as he thought about how Jen’s parents treated her, about how he should’ve done something. How her parents had reacted when she’d been found was so vastly different from how Bruce reacted when Duke ran into his arms that it almost physically hurt him to think about it. 

It was too late to do anything now, but Duke vowed that he’d help her if they ever met again. 

* * *

Three days passed and the Manor still had a weird air about it. Bruce was quieter, not talking as much during dinner. He stayed in his office longer, and on the day he usually took Cass and Duke out to get a treat (Monday), it was Alfred who took them instead.

‘He’s sad,’ Cass signed on that third night over a game of Clue! ‘It reminded him of his parents.’

None of them had really talked about it. Sure, Bruce was quieter, and Duke and Cass had been dancing around the topic for days now, but it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like their place to talk about, because it really wasn’t. They got to go home, they got to get away from the situation. That poor kid didn’t. It was his terrifying reality now, that both of his parents were dead and there was nothing he could do about it.

“How do you know that?” Duke asked, forcing himself out of a horrible thought process. He himself had been having nightmares about the same situation. He’d dreamt of the circus, of watching them fall. He’d dreamt of his own parents, and the time where Bruce hid his view of them being lead to their death. He dreamt a terrible mix of both, where his parents were the ones who fell to their death, and he was the one perched up high, just watching, waiting for them to draw another breath that would never come.

‘He gets like this every year around the time his parents died.’ Cass looked focused. Her eyebrows were knit together, like she was deep in thought. Duke wished he knew what was going through her brain, because neither of them really knew what to do with all the emotions they’d been feeling since the circus.

“Can we do something?” Duke wanted to help if he could, especially the man who had done so much for him.

‘Just try to get him out of his office more, but Alfred told us just to let him be for now. I think he’s looking into their death. They’re saying it wasn’t an accident.’

“Really? Then who did it?” Duke set his slip of paper down, not even realizing that if Cass wasn’t just as distracted by this conversation as he was, she could’ve seen that he’d already figured out who the murderer was and what room it had happened in.

‘They haven’t figured it out yet. Don’t tell anyone that you know. I just overheard dad and Alfred talking about it.’

The next day, Duke brought up the subject with Barbara.

“Did you know they’re saying the Grayson’s death might’ve been a murder?” He asked over lunch. It was really the only time they could talk and not get in trouble or have someone overhear their conversation.

“Yeah, I know. My dad’s working the case. I’m not supposed to know anything, but sometimes I hear him talking on the phone about stuff. Apparently the wires were sabotaged.” She ate a cheese cracker before continuing. “Apparently their kid doesn’t have anywhere to go. His aunt is gone and his uncle’s in a coma or something. It’s really sad.”

Duke’s heart dropped as he thought about the boy he’d taken a picture with. He was so happy, jumping around like if he stopped moving he’d die. Now he had no one, had gone into the foster system just like Duke had when his parents first died. And then a few days later Bruce took him in, gave him a home. He didn’t want to think about someone else going through what he did without someone to support him.

Barbara changed the subject to the book she’d been reading about and the rest of the school day passed normally, but Duke just couldn’t get that boy out of his head.

* * *

Dinner was Cass’ favorite, spaghetti and meatballs. As soon as the food was in front of her, she began eating. All of Alfred’s food was homemade, and his noodles were to die for.

They went through their usual dinner routine. Bruce would ask how their day went and they would each talk about how school was, and then Bruce would tell a funny story about something that happened at work. They’d eat in silence for a few minutes, and then someone would bring up a random topic and the rest of dinner would center around it.

Today, Duke was the one who broke the silence. 

“Barbara and I were talking at lunch,” he started, pushing some of the noodles around his bowl (Cass was about to take it from him if he didn’t start eating soon). “Apparently Richard, the kid from the circus, is going into foster care.” The sound of clattering metal resounded around the room, and both the kids looked over to see that Bruce had dropped his fork, and there was now red sauce splattered on the tablecloth. Alfred wouldn’t be happy about that.

“What?” The man asked.

“Yeah,” Duke started, a little more hesitant this time. “Apparently he had no remaining family, so he’s being put in the system. I don’t know all the details, Barbara just overheard her dad talking about it.”

Bruce pushed away from the table, standing up stiffly. “Bruce?” Duke asked. 

Cass already knew what was happening. Her dad had the same determined look on his face right before he spent every second he could filling out the paperwork to get custody of Duke.

“I have work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone reading and leaving comments. There are multiple people who have commented on nearly all of the chapters (if not every single one) and I just want to thank you guys so much. No pressure to leave a comment to those who might not know what to say, but it really helps keep me going! I have a lot of stuff planned for this story, but it’s still hard sometimes to keep writing.
> 
> Another thing, this book will have more multi media stuff, I promise! I’m waiting for the kids to grow up a little more before including it, but one of the next few chapters should be a social media one so just bear with me, it’s coming!


	9. Swallow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick finally joins the family. Things go a little worse than they expected.

It was another few days before the new member of the household actually arrived. That morning. Alfred had warned them not to be too overwhelming, like they didn’t already know. The two agreed, though, and spent most of breakfast making small talk about what was going to happen when their new brother moved in. He’d be getting a room in the same hall as the rest of them unless he expressed that he wanted somewhere more secluded. The plans were to put his room right next to Duke’s, across from Cass’.

He arrived a little after lunch time. He didn’t have much, just a duffel bag that didn’t even seem full. Duke didn’t really know that feeling, losing almost everything because the system made you give it up, but Cass did. Duke hadn’t been in the system long enough for it to affect him in that way, but Cass? She’d been in and out of homes since she could remember. She had barely had a belonging to call her own until she was nine, when Bruce has officially adopted her. Duke however, was the one who could understand the look of sorrow behind Richard’s eyes, the one that no one who ever experienced a loss like this wanted another person to address. It was the look of someone who’s life had been changed so drastically in such a short period of time that you could never go back to the person you were before. From that moment on, no matter how much you wanted it not to, it changed you for the rest of your life.

Duke’s therapist had called it a ‘_ point of no return _’. He thought it was fitting.

Bruce showed him to his room and let him settle in. All the windows had sensors on them, so they’d know if he tried to make a sneaky escape. (It wasn’t necessarily a way to keep him in, and it wasn’t even targeted specifically at him. Every entry point in the house had a sensor on it as a safety measure. It wasn’t meant to keep anyone in, it was to keep intruders out. Still, it was helpful for Bruce to be able to keep a little bit of an eye on a new kid who was still a potential flight risk) He didn’t, however. He just softly clicked the door shut and didn’t come back out until Alfred came to get him for dinner.

The first meal they all shared was… awkward at best. They didn’t follow their usual script, since Bruce hadn’t gone to work, nor the kids to school, in preparation of Dick’s arrival. 

Getting information out of the kid was like pulling teeth. It took them ten minutes just to figure out that he liked going by Dick more than Richard. (Cass had giggled, but Duke was pretty sure Dick hadn’t caught on since she couldn’t actually make any sound when she laughed. It took Duke himself almost a month to realize when she was laughing.) 

Dick pushed his food around his plate, not making eye contact with anyone else at the table. He was hunched in on himself, in away that made it seem like, if he had the ability, he would’ve disappeared into nothingness and reappeared far, far away. Or maybe he wouldn’t have reappeared at all. Duke couldn’t blame him for feeling that way, with how new the wound was. He was still reeling from the fact that he’d been hit at all, still much too early for him to even think about bandaging it. Right now, everyone around him was just trying to help slow the bleeding before he bled out right in front of them. (That’s how sorrow worked. It always was. You couldn’t do it by yourself, Duke had learned that the hard way. Sadly, he saw a lot of himself in Dick, and he was almost certain that he would be following the same path Duke had been forging since he got here.)

Here’s the things they learned about Dick Grayson that night: He preferred going by Dick, his favorite color was blue, and his favorite animal was an elephant. That was it. Duke wasn’t necessarily surprised, it’s not like he’d been much more welcoming when he’d first joined the family. It was hard, trying desperately to not bring up someone’s past, when that’s the exact information you needed to really get to know a person. It took time and patience, and a lot of it. Duke didn’t think any outsider would ever understand how much effort Bruce put into helping them. He didn’t think anyone would ever really grasp how much respect both Cass and Duke had for him. At this point, Duke would’ve been ready to throw in the towel. Hell, if Duke had to put up with the things he’d done when he first came to the Manor, he would retire at 26. Not Bruce, though. He gave and gave and gave and all he asked for in return was respect, the most basic thing this man deserved.

Duke's family had always believed that things happened for a reason. As terrible as it sounded, Duke was almost certain Bruce’s parents died for a cause, and that cause was so he would grow into the man he was today. The man so ready to help anyone in need, the man who would probably give the shirt off his back to someone who needed it more than him.

(Duke had overheard his teacher talking to Bruce about how mature he was for his age. She’d expressed concern, and Duke had just heard Bruce say, in the most deadpan way possible, “He has a lot of reasons to be mature. He could be doing a lot worse than talking about his family and his beliefs as a way to process what has happened to him.” They’d left almost immediately after that, and Duke honestly hadn’t tried to figure out what all Bruce meant by it.)

Dinner passed and they were set free to do what they pleased until it was time for bed. Duke and Cass tried to offer to play a game of Uno with Dick, but he quietly declined. They watched him trudge back up to his room and clicked the door shut mechanically, just like he had before. 

Days passed and nothing really changed. Bruce got Dick set up through the school, but he wouldn’t be joining classes until the new semester, since none of them really saw the point in his joining a week before winter break. Cass tried to invite Dick to join her as she practiced her ballet, or even just watch as she worked, and Duke had offered to show him how to skateboard. He declined both offers, opting to stay in his room as many hours a day as he could.

It was the first night of winter break when Bruce’s phone started beeping. Everyone was sitting in the living room, drinking tea or hot chocolate. Dick had asked to go to his room instead of joining them, and Bruce had granted him permission, but not before telling him he was always welcome to sit with them, even if he didn’t want to talk.

When the beeping started, Bruce and Alfred both stiffened, immediately getting up. 

“What? What is it?” Duke asked as he and Cass both jumped up to see what was happening.

“Dick opened his window,” Bruce said, already making his way towards the stairs.

“Could he have just wanted fresh air?” Duke asked.

“With how cold it is?” Bruce pointed out, which Duke couldn’t exactly fight against. It was the part of winter where he was snuggled deep under his covers all night, even with the furnace running.

“Sir, I understand your panic, but do you think it’s the best choice for you to go?” Alfred pointed out. “Either of our presence might spook the poor boy even more.”

Bruce turned. “Are you considering we should send Duke or Cass?” He seemed hesitant. 

“Duke would be the best choice, I believe. Dick and Cass cannot thoroughly communicate yet, but he might panic and think he’s in trouble if it’s one of us. Also, do we really want him knowing we’re monitoring him in any way? Something like this could break the fragile trust we barely have.”

“Duke, are you okay with going after him?” Bruce asked urgently. Duke was acutely aware that Dick might not have just opened that window to get air, or even look out. Coming from someone who’d had terrible thoughts before, the idea of finding Dick not on the roof was, well, absolutely mortifying.

“Yeah, of course.” He already was making his way up the steps as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to give Dick anymore time than they already had.

“We’ll be right outside the door, just yell if you need us, okay?”

Duke nodded and entered the room. He felt a blast of cold and immediately pulled the sleeves of his sweater down to his hands. He glanced around the room, taking note of the Flying Graysons poster before making the assessment that Dick was not in the room. He was already fairly certain of what he’d find, but it still didn’t stop his heart from plummeting when he found that Dick was nowhere to be seen. 

Duke stuck his head out the window, looking to both sides to see if he could spot Dick. Still no dice. 

Duke’s breath picked up, lungs burning from the cold as he quickly climbed out the window. All he had on was a pair of pajamas, and the biting air was already making his nose run and his fingers start to tingle. He was halfway out, straddling the sill when he finally spotted the kid. He was a little past Duke’s view from just inside the window, up closer to the top of the roof. Dick was okay, alive. 

“Hey,” Duke greeted quietly, trying to keep from scaring the boy on a slippery roof covered in snow and ice.

Even with the precaution, Dick startled, head whipping to look at Duke. His eyes widened, and he stiffened up, looking kind of like a deer in headlights.

“It’s okay, dude, I promise. We were just finishing up downstairs and I wanted to let you know we were heading to bed. I saw your window was open and got... worried.”

Dick glanced away, but then back to Duke. “Just leave me alone,” he grumbled.

“You see, I would, but it’s gotta be, like, ten degrees out here. I think Bruce would actually murder me if I let you stay out here in what you’re wearing.” He was wearing a t-shirt, what looked like a pair of old leggings, and a light jacket. He wasn’t wearing anything on his feet, and Duke could already see how red they were from the chill.

He seemed hesitant, glancing out at the expanse of the yard in front of him, then back to Duke. “Are you gonna tell him you found me out here if I come in?” He questioned quickly, his voice wavering a little bit. Duke wasn’t sure if it was from the cold, or if he was just nervous at the notion of being snitched on.

“If you come in and promise not to go back out on the roof when it’s this cold again, I won’t tell him.”

Dick seemed to weigh his options for a second, and then finally started scooting his way to the window. Duke pulled himself back inside to give him the space to slide in. Once both of their feet were firmly planted on the floor, Duke quickly turned to close the window, reinstating the alarm when he slid the lock into place.

“I’m just gonna go to sleep. You can leave now.”

“Okay.” Duke awkwardly stood for a second, warring with himself over whether to say something. After a moment, he figured it wouldn’t hurt. “I want you to know… we’re not trying to replace what you lost. None of us are. We just want to help you. I don’t know what you were doing out there, but… we’re here for you.”

Dick didn’t look at him, just stayed with his back towards Duke. He was pretty sure the kid was looking at the Flying Graysons poster that was hanging right next to his bed, but he couldn’t be sure. “Just leave.”

Duke sighed and walked to the door. “Sleep well.” He closed the door behind him, and his whole family looked to him with curious gazes. They walked further down the hall so Dick wouldn’t hear them talking and put two and two together. “He’s fine. I don’t know what he was doing, but he was just sitting up on the roof. He said he was gonna go to bed and then made me leave.”

No matter how little they all wanted to, they let him be.

If Cass noticed that night that Bruce’s door was open instead of shut tight like usual, she didn’t mention anything to anyone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it took so longs, it’s been quite a week for me. Good thing, though, the next chapter is already half written!
> 
> Edit: A lovely person asked what the ages of everyone were and I figured I’d add it here to make it less confusing for everyone! Bruce is 27, Cass is 12 (about to turn 13), Duke is 10, and Dick is 8 (a few months from being 9).
> 
> Bruce’s bday is in February, Cass’ is in January, Duke’s is in June and Dick’s is in March. I tried to go off canon as much as possible but some of their birthdays I couldn’t find, or they had multiple in dicks case. Hope this helps clear things up!


	10. Starling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick starts to feel more comfortable with the Wayne family.

<strike></strike>“What are you doing in the attic?” Duke asked, looking towards Dick who had managed to wedge himself in a corner that Duke was now too big to fit into. He was halfway up the stairs, and working on pulling himself up the rest of the way.

“Alfred can find me everywhere else.” Dick muttered, voice muffled by the stuffed animal in his arms. 

Duke pursed his lips as he finally got up, maneuvering to put his hands around his knees, mirroring Dick’s position. “Yeah… Sorry ‘bout that. He already found me in all the good spots.”

There was a brief pause, everything so quiet that both of their breathing was audible. “Duke?”

“Yeah?” He asked, waiting patiently for Dick to continue.

“When you came out my window... did you think I was going to leave? Or…” The words he left hanging in the air were obvious to both of them.

“I don’t know. It was kind of a mix of the fear of either of them.” He drew a tree in the dust that had collected on the floorboards in the time since they last took decorations down. “Were you planning on doing anything?”

“No,” Dick responded, and Duke trusted that he was telling the truth. “I just wanted fresh air.”

“And you had to climb on the roof to do that?” Duke asked jokingly.

Dick hugged the stuffed Elephant closer to his chest, burying his face in its fur. He didn’t seem to find it very funny, and Duke quickly realized he was missing some important information as to why Dick had gone on the roof. Duke could tell that this was the end of the conversation, so he let it go.

An idea hit Duke like a bus and adrenaline immediately started pumping in his veins. “Can I show you something? I think it’ll help.” He was already shifting back towards the ladder to make his way downstairs.

“Please don’t try to make me draw like Alfred keeps doing. I’m so bad at it, and I don’t like it either.”

Duke snorted, vivid memories of Alfred trying to do the same exact thing to him flashing through his brain. “No, I think what I’m gonna show you is more your speed.” He lead Dick downstairs, slowly making his way towards the basement. “There’s not much down here right now, but I’m sure Bruce would add some stuff if you asked.” He flipped the light on, casting a bright fluorescent glow over the finished basement.

Next to the door was a mini fridge that Duke knew was stocked with water and protein bars. Along the wall opposite the stairs, there was a mirror covering the entire side of the basement. Attached to it was a long bar, where Cass practiced her ballet when she wasn’t at the studio she was taking her lessons through. To the right, there was a set of weights and a mat still rolled out from the last time Duke had been down here. He didn’t use the weights, nor the treadmill and stationary bike that were in the adjacent corner, but he liked using the mats to stretch. Hanging off to the left side was the thing Duke had come down here for. There were two punching bags hung from the ceiling, as well as some more rolled up mats in the corner. 

“Welcome to my humble… gym,” Duke announced plainly, waving a hand around the room to showcase everything that was down here.

“Woah!” Dick gasped, dropped his stuffed animal next to the mini fridge and quickly skipped over to the punching bags, slapping one of them excitedly with both of his hands. Duke couldn’t help but think of the image of Dick on that fateful night when he took a picture with the family, Dick’s uncontainable excitement on display for everyone who gave him a passing glance. He only saw half of that energy now, but it was there, and Duke figured that was better than nothing.

Duke was no expert on anything when it came to fighting. His focus was skateboarding, but Bruce had made both him and Cass take self defense classes because, well, it _ is _ Gotham. (Still, if someone were to walk down and see them, they were more playing around with the punching bags than actually punching them.)

Duke showed Dick how to wrap his hands and then began showing him the few things he'd learned in his class. Bruce or Alfred would be able to show him more, but for right now, Dick seemed to be content with what Duke was teaching him.

As they were hitting the punching bags, Duke decided to say something. "You know, I miss my parents, too.” He started, watching Dick. “It...it hasn’t even been a year. Bruce lost his parents, too. We understand what you’re going through.” Duke’s heart had been aching for so long that he wasn’t sure if it would ever stop. It only hurt worse now that the holidays were here. Every hot chocolate he drank with Bruce and Cass felt like a betrayal to his parents. Every night he went to his room and apologized to the wall, hoping to whatever deity there was that his parents could hear him. He didn’t mean to replace them, he really didn’t, but with every passing day he felt more and more like Bruce was his dad. Not his actual dad, Bruce and his dad weren’t really that similar, but a new dad. Duke just kept telling himself that it wasn’t replacing him if he and Bruce had a different kind of relationship. (He still prayed about it sometimes. He didn’t really believe in any particular god, but a part of him really hoped that there was someone out there to pass on the message to his parents. The message that said sometimes he wished he was with them, that he hadn’t run ahead that day in the mall when he saw a _ really _ cool pair of shoes. Because of his excitement, they’d been separated into different groups, and now Duke could never look at a pair of those shoes without feeling the need to throw up everything in his stomach. The message that said he was sorry about how happy he was without them. He missed them, and he’d be happier if they were here, but Bruce, Cass, and Alfred were really good at making him laugh. The message that pleaded them to give him a sign, _ anything, _to prove that they were still there, that they were watching over him from wherever you go when you die. That sign still had yet to come, and Duke was starting to feel like the wall he was talking to really was just a wall.)

Dick kept punching for so long that Duke thought he wasn't even going to acknowledge that Duke had spoken. "I don’t know who did it, but I want to kill the person who murdered them." He didn't stop hitting the bag, and he refused to look over at Duke.

"I did, too."

Dick faltered a little, but kept hitting after the initial surprise at Duke's statement. 

"I wanted to make Two Face pay. I still do. My parents were just two of almost fifty people who died that day. It wasn't anything personal, there wasn't anything anyone in that mall did to make Two Face kill them, he just did. He did it for fun.” Duke’s voice was full with so much venom that anyone listening in would know he was telling the absolute truth.

Dick finally paused in his punching, looking to Duke with an unreadable expression. He didn't say anything, but Duke was pretty sure he understood what he was thinking. The only two words Dick had to say were one’s they were both tired of hearing. It was better to just stay quiet and soak in the shared grief.

"Our situations aren't that similar, I know that. All I’m saying is… the people in this house? We understand more than most people would. That’s gotta be worth something.”

Dick, again, remained silent and just started hitting again. "Like this?" He asked. Duke wasn't even sure if Dick had listened to a word he'd said, but at least at this point he could say he'd tried his best.

* * *

Dick started leaving his room more, thankfully. He hung around the family more often, and was actually picking up quite quickly on sign language, which they were all thankful for. 

Christmas passed without much event. They always had their family dinner on Christmas Eve, and then opened their presents in the morning. All of them got clothes for Christmas, and then one bigger gift. Dick’s big gift was an XBOX, which he’d seemed interested in when they’d gone to get things for his room a while ago. Duke got the newest DS, and Cass got a couple pairs of pointe shoes (which she wanted to dance in immediately but Alfred advised she should wait). The family was now preparing to leave the house and head towards Crime Alley. Bruce made all of them put on heavy coats, even though none of them felt it was necessary.

“What are we doing, again?” Dick piped up from his seat next to Duke. Bruce was driving, and Alfred was in the passenger seat. Dick was stuck in the middle back, since he was the smallest, with Cass on the left and Duke on the right.

“We’re volunteering at the soup kitchen. I try to go a couple months, and Mrs. Valentino always likes having some of her regulars around the holidays to teach new people what they’re doing. A lot of people only volunteer on big holidays because it’s a time of giving, and then never go back,” Bruce explained, glancing in the rearview mirror as he spoke.

“Oh, cool.” And that was the end of the conversation.

When they got there, they were immediately put to work. Cass was tasked with putting things in the oven to cook, and making sure the timer was set to the right time. Duke and Dick were both too young to go anywhere near cooking anything, so they washed dishes and helped keep everything in the kitchen in order. Duke tried to help as much as he could, especially since Dick seemed a little overwhelmed at first. After a half an hour, though, he quickly got into the rhythm and was doing almost everything on his own. By the time the doors opened two hours after they’d shown up, Dick and Duke were both half soaked in water from the sink (they may or may not have started subtly flicking water at each other). 

Duke quickly showed Dick how many green beans to dish out if the person asked for them, and then took position in front of the ham. Dishing out the food itself took around an hour. Once the major crowd died down, the kids were let go to grab themselves some food and talk to some of the people eating their meals.

They sat down with the kids that Duke usually found when he volunteered. None of them would classify each other as friends, but they enjoyed each other's company when they were around. They sometimes told stories, but mostly they just joked around about lighter subjects and stayed far away from anything too deep. 

(The first time Duke had talked to them, he’d told them that he was from the bad side of town, saying it as if it were a badge of honor that he hadn’t always grown up with the kind of money he now lived with. The oldest of the group had gotten mad at him, told him that his growing up in the Narrows was nothing compared to living on its streets, and Duke figured she was right. He’d never been afraid of where his next meal would come from, never afraid of losing his house, he always had heat in the winter and AC in the summer, and his parents loved him. 

_ That _ was a big one, and it hurt him to think that a large portion of the kids that came to the soup kitchen alone were here because their parents decided that who they loved or what they identified as was worse than accepting the human being _ they’d brought into this world _for who they were.)

Dick quickly caught onto their jokes and threw in some of his own. Duke was happy he seemed to be enjoying it here, and they both scarfed down their share of food because honestly? It was _delicious. _

On the way home, Bruce asked how Dick liked it. Half asleep, leaning slightly on Cass’ shoulder, he just grinned. “I can’t wait to go back.” They all took it as a promise for the future.

* * *

A few weeks later, the family was having dinner together. Dick half-listened as Duke translated what Cass was enthusiastically signing (something about her birthday that was next week), taking slow bites of his food. He still didn’t have that much of an appetite, but he was finding that it was easier to eat at least half his plate because Alfred wouldn’t get on his case about ‘being a growing boy’ and ‘needing protein!’

Duke was quickly talking about Cass’ excitement for her birthday party when Alfred cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone at the table. “Master Bruce, I hate to interrupt, but there is a phone call for you. It is not urgent, but I do think it is some news you would rather have sooner than later.” 

Bruce quickly wiped his mouth with his napkin and pushed his chair out, walking into the other room to pick up the call. Once both of the adults were gone, Dick dropped his fork onto his plate, leaning back in his chair. He glanced at the other kids, wondering if they had any idea what the call might be about. 

“It’s probably something boring,” Duke explained, taking another bite of his chicken. Cass signed something and he nodded, waiting a moment to swallow before telling Dick what she’d said. “It’s probably something to do with the company. Some person did something wrong and B’s gonna have to put in some extra time to fix it.”

Dick hummed in response, just wishing he could go back to his room. He guessed he could use the excuse that he has homework to do, but he was worried about using that reason too often and it becoming obvious that he was lying about it. So he sat and waited for Bruce to come back.

The man walked in a few minutes later and sat down, hands in front of him on the table. It didn’t seem like he was going to resume eating anytime soon, which put Dick on edge. 

Bruce turned to look directly at Dick, and a shiver went up his spine at the look he was being given. There was no joking behind it. His face was completely serious, and Dick wasn’t really sure how to feel about that.

“Dick, that was the Commissioner on the phone.” He saw Duke and Cass put down their forks out of the corner of his eye, and his mind immediately went on red alert. Something was wrong.

“Okay?” He began quietly. Did he have to leave? Were they going to put him back in that terrible home? He didn’t like it there, he was always cold and the kids were mean. At least here they gave him space and didn’t mind when he spoke quietly in his native tongue. He wasn’t necessarily happy here, but he didn’t really feel happy _anywhere _right now, and he certainly didn’t want to be stuck anywhere else.

“They figured out who killed your parents.” If Dick had been holding anything, he would’ve dropped it at this point. It had been a month since that terrible night. His eyes burned and his chest flared up, like a black hole trying to suck up his soul. Sometimes, he wished it would, just so he wouldn’t have to _hurt _anymore. His heart always ached and he just wanted it to _stop_. “They haven’t caught him yet, but they know where he is, and they’re working on arresting him as we speak.”

Silence covered the room like a too-heavy blanket. Dick wasn’t sure if they were waiting for him to say something. He held back his tears, gripping the arms of the chair as he thought. One question took over him, and he felt like if he didn’t find out the answer _now, _he’d explode. 

“What’s his name?” He asked through clenched teeth, staring straight ahead at a painting hanging on the wall. He wasn’t even really sure what it was right now, since his vision was blurred by tears he refused to let fall.

“Dick, I don’t think it’s a good idea t-”

“What’s his name?” Dick snapped, looking to Bruce.

“Master Dick, that is very disrespectful. You need to-” Dick cut the butler off.

“I deserve to know who did this! My parents are gone. I deserve to know the name of the guy who did it!” He shouted, and another silence took over the room. It spread across them for about ten seconds, and then Dick shoved his chair back, excusing himself from the table. 

“Dick,” Bruce started, and he expected to be reprimanded for leaving without asking permission. He stopped near the door but didn’t turn back to the people in the room. “Tony Zucco.”

Anger flowed through Dick’s veins at the name. He wanted to find this man and kill him, because now, unlike before, he had a name for the person he hated. He had an identity to point his anger at. 

He nodded once, and then pushed through the door from the dining room into the hallway, allowing the rage to spread through his chest. He made it to his room before the screams ripped out of him, the emotions building too tight to not let them out. He ripped the blankets off his bed, the pillows, his stuffed animals. He pulled his books off the shelf, listening to the pages crumple against the floor. His fingers began bleeding as he clawed at everything he could find in his room. He threw the pictures of his parents, watching the glass crack in the frames Bruce had bought him. He tore down the Flying Graysons poster, ripping up his past as if tearing it apart into the smallest pieces possible would make it all a dream.

By the time he was finished, nothing in his room had been spared. At this point, it would probably be easier to move rooms than to try to clean this one.

Once the anger subsided, all that was left was an emptiness that tired him to the bone. He collapsed into the pile of blankets and pillows he’d left on the ground and fell asleep with tears streaming down his face, stuffed elephant clutched close to his chest. That night, he dreamed of a superhero coming to his rescue, watching over him from afar. The hero didn’t put Tony Zucco behind bars, but he did so much more. He helped Dick, he watched over him and helped him feel okay.

When Dick woke up, he didn’t realize that his dreamt up superhero already existed in his life as an average man with a heart of gold.


	11. Meadowlark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone talks some things out, with a wholesome twist at the end.

“I do not know if telling him was the wisest decision, sir.” Alfred and Bruce were alone in the library. It had been an hour since dinner, and all the kids had been sent to their rooms for the night. Both adults had heard part of Dick’s fit and neither were looking forward to seeing the destruction come morning.

“I know,” Bruce responded honestly. His cup of tea was shaking slightly in his hand, and he decided to set it down on the table before he ended up spilling it on himself. “I also know that at that age... I would’ve done anything to know the name of the person who killed my parents. I was hoping it would help. Obviously it had the opposite effect.” 

Bruce bit at his lip, a nervous tick left over from his childhood that he had never been able to break. Alfred sat down next to him, placing a hand on Bruce’s knee. “I do not doubt you were trying to do the right thing.” He paused for the smallest second before continuing. “I remember when they finally too Chill in. I waited to tell you who he was until then, until they had him behind bars. Do you remember that?”

“Yeah.” Bruce remembered it _ vividly_. He understood the sentiment now, but at the time he’d been furious. It had been a year and a half since it happened when Chill finally got taken in. They’d known for awhile who had committed the crime, but it had taken them much longer to actually find the man. Bruce’s loss hadn’t been nearly as recent as Dick’s was, and he’d still been angry. “What should I do?” 

Bruce was lost. Maybe he wasn’t really ready to be another child’s parents, maybe he should’ve stopped at two. As it was, he knew Cass and Duke weren’t getting nearly as much of his attention as they deserved. He knew Duke was still hurting with his own loss, and he also knew Cass was trying her best to help in every way she could. Bruce was so damn proud of both of them. He wanted to give both of them the world, but he couldn’t, and that fact made his heart hurt.

“I suggest we take it slow with Master Dick. His wound is new, and while you still miss your parents, yours has had time to heal. He is still processing, so in denial that he does not even think he is in denial. He needs a reason to keep going, and not one that says ‘Do it because your parents would have wanted you to be happy’. That will not help him now. We need to find an outlet for him, a new one that is not affiliated with his parents.”

Bruce appreciated that Alfred was saying ‘we’, a subtle way of showing that he was going to be there every step of the way to help Bruce when he (inevitably) made another mistake. “What do you think that should be?”

“Well, that’s something we will have to figure out with Master Dick at a later date. It is going to take time to find something that will work. Right now, I think it would be best if we all tried to get some rest. We have our work set out for us tomorrow.” He squeezed Bruce’s knee, then moved to stand.

“Alfred?” Bruce started when the man was fully stood up.

“Yes?” He asked, turning back.

“Thank you.” He swallowed harshly, collecting himself. All of this was bringing up old emotions, feelings that he hadn’t felt in a long time. His heart was aching, both for his kids and his old grief. “For everything. I don’t think I’d be here without you.”

Alfred gave a soft smile and leaned over to place a light kiss on the top of Bruce’s head. “I do not regret a second of it.” He gently patted Bruce’s shoulder before turning to walk towards the door. “I highly suggest you get some rest soon.”

Once the butler was gone, Bruce pulled out a WayneTech tablet and started searching. He could rest later, right now he needed to find a way to help Dick.

* * *

Alfred and Bruce helped Dick clean up his room after breakfast. It was a lot, but luckily not too much was actually broken. The poster Bruce had gotten for Dick was ripped to shreds, but Bruce make sure to save all the pieces in a shoe box, hoping to salvage the poster and give it back to Dick at a later date. A couple picture frames were also broken, and when Bruce turned one over, he found that it was a picture of Dick with his parents. The frame was completely destroyed, but the picture itself was mostly fine aside from a few scratches left by the sharp glass.

It took the three of them nearly two hours to fully clean the room. The last thing Bruce did was make Dick’s bed as Alfred went to take the trash outside. Once the bed was made, Bruce sat down on the edge, patting the spot next to him. “Come sit, Dick.” His voice was calm. He was angry, yes, but more worried than anything else.

Dick pulled himself up, shoulders hunched. “You’re not in trouble. I want to _ talk _ to you, not _ lecture _. You already know what you did was wrong, and you’ve spent the last two hours making up for it.” The tension in Dick’s body lessened, but it didn’t fully disappear. The boy was staring intently at the hardwood floor and looked about ready to bury himself under the covers just so he could get away from having to talk. He didn’t though, instead he took a bit of a breath and spoke.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, still not looking over at Bruce.

“I know,” he responded. “And I trust you won’t do something like this again.” In the long run, Dick had hurt himself more than anyone else. Anything Bruce bought him could be replaced if it was broken beyond repair, but that poster? There were only so many that existed, and Bruce couldn’t guarantee that Haley had anymore, even if he tried to reach out and ask for a new one. “Like I said, I’m not here to lecture you. I know you’re angry, I know it feels like no one has ever felt that pain, but I have. It’s not the same, everyone’s different, but I get it. I get that a part of you is probably thinking about sneaking out that window to get revenge on Tony Zucco, to make him feel the same pain he put you through.” Bruce breathed, watching Dick fold in on himself even more. What he was saying was obviously hitting home. “I’m not here to tell you to get rid of that anger. It’s okay to hold it, let it build up for a little while, but sometime you have to _ let it go _. I was angry for years. I bottled it up inside so much that it ended up affecting my physical health. One winter I got pneumonia three times because of it. The only thing that helped me was therapy. Which is something I wanted to talk to you about.

“I know you might not want to, but I think you should see a therapist.” Dick turned to look at Bruce with wide eyes. “Everyone in this house regularly goes to a therapist. Cass goes to a guy who specializes with sign language, but we all see different people. Just be aware that whoever you go to isn’t legally allowed to tell me anything unless they think you’re going to put yourself or someone else in danger. And I wouldn’t ask anyway, your business is yours and if you don’t want to tell me something, that’s perfectly fine. I would love for you to share with me, but I’m not going to push you to tell me something you’re not ready for me to know.”

Dick crossed his arms across his chest. “It won’t help. I don’t see the point in wasting my time. Or yours.”

Bruce smirked to himself, remembering similar words coming out of his own mouth after his first appointment. “Well, it certainly won’t make things worse. Besides, it’s only an hour once a week.”

“It’ll be a waste of money.”

Bruce gave Dick a pointed look. “I have _ plenty _of that, especially to go towards something like this.”

Dick frowned, obviously trying to think of another reason to fight against going to therapy. He came up short.

“If you’re that worried about it, I’ll make your appointment around the same time as everyone else's. We all usually go around the same time on the same day.” A pause. “I’m not doing this to make you hate me, and it’s not supposed to be a form of punishment either.”

“Well it is,” Dick remarked, back to looking at the floor.

“I’ll make you a deal. If you still don’t want to go after, I don’t know, _ five _appointments, we’ll talk, okay?”

Dick nodded, but the frown was still visible on his face. “Anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Not necessarily. Is there something _ you _wanna talk about?” Bruce asked, almost hopeful.

“Can I be alone?”

Bruce sighed internally, but stood and grabbed the shoebox he’d left on Dick’s desk. “I know it’s hard, kiddo, but you’ve got to trust me. I just want to help.”

Dick didn’t respond for a second, and Bruce figured he wasn’t planning to. He walked out the door and quietly clicked it shut behind himself. He walked across the hall to his room and sat down on the floor. He opened the shoe box and shook out its contents, quickly setting to work on the puzzle that was Dick’s poster.

* * *

Cass had been on her way to her room, a mug of tea in hand when she heard it. The sound wasn’t loud, and if it hadn’t been so quiet in the hall, she wouldn’t have caught it at all. She made her way to Duke’s room instead of her own and slowly pushed the door open.

Once she was in the doorway, Duke glanced up then swiftly looked away again, not-so-subtly wiping tears off his face. When he turned back around, he didn’t look any better than he had a moment ago. His eyes were red and puffy, and tears tracks still glistened on his cheeks even after his desperate attempt to wipe them off.

She set her tea down on Duke’s bedside table and took a seat across from him. ‘What’s wrong?’ She asked as she got settled down. Duke sniffled, playing with the corner of his sheets.

It took him a few minutes to work up the energy to say the words out loud, but Cass waited patiently until he was ready to speak.

“It’s so close,” He started, looking to the ceiling. It seemed like he was trying to stop from crying more. “The holidays were hard. I thought that would be the worst, but oh god, this is _ so much worse. _” He buried his face in his hands as his shoulders shook with sobs. It was the 2nd of January, exactly five days before his parents died in the mall one year ago. “I miss them so much.”

‘I know,” Cass signed. What else could she say? Her parents had given her up, but they weren’t dead. Their situations, while both horrible, were vastly different. It was also why she had been letting Duke spend more time with Dick than her. She wanted to get to know him, but she wasn’t what he needed right now. She couldn’t help Duke much, either, but at least she could be here. She could support him the best she could, more than she currently knew how to support Dick. 

She wrapped her arms around her brother and rubbed his back as he began to cry again. They sat like that for about ten minutes, Duke crying into her shirt, before he settled down enough to pull away and rub at his eyes. “Thanks, Cass.”

‘Anytime. I’m always here.’ She tapped him as he finished rubbing his eyes to make sure she had his attention. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

Duke bit his lip, mulling over it for a second. “I found a CD my mom used to play when she made dinner. She said the music gave her the energy to cook, that I’d understand once I was old enough for her to teach me.” His voice cracked at the lost promise. 

She nodded. ‘Maybe you can play me a song sometime. Or you could see if Alfred could teach you how to make something while listening to it. Your mom would probably love that you kept that alive.’ She tried to make it obvious that she wasn’t expecting anything from him right now, and that there was no pressure to do it in the future.

“Yeah, maybe.” It sounded half-hearted, but Cass way pretty sure he would’ve had the same tone in response to just about anything right now. “Hey, Cass? Could… Can you sleep with me tonight? I keep having nightmares…”

Cass patted Duke’s leg to show that he didn’t have to explain if he didn’t want to. ‘Let me go get changed and I’ll be right back.’

She was changed and back in the room in two minutes.

When she got back, Duke was scrolling through his phone. “Have you heard of this guy? His name’s Jerome Valeska.” He showed Cass a twitter account as she settled back in next to him.

The two delved into the man’s tweets, talking about how reporters viewed their family. From that, the conversation drifted to Bruce’s love of dinosaurs, and then Cass’ previous obsession with action figures. By the time they fell asleep, they’d somehow ended up on the topic of Duke’s hatred towards Justin Bieber. 

Cass’ tea sat on the bedside table, untouched and forgotten.

* * *

Cass was practically vibrating. They were getting her birthday gift today, and she couldn’t be more ecstatic. She was turning thirteen, the very beginning of her teenage years. Her dad was definitely making it memorable for her.

The family was immediately met by heat when Bruce pulled the doors open. The smell of cleaner was obvious, but behind it was a certain musk that could only be found at a place like this.

The idea had first been brought up a few weeks ago when Cass had found her dad trying to piece together a poster on his bedroom floor. She’d sat down next to him and grabbed one of the pieces, fitting it into place.

_ ‘What happened?’ Cass asked, pointing to the poster. _

_ Her dad took a few minutes to explain the situation, in which she listened attentively while putting a few of the pieces into their proper place. _

_ ‘Are you planning on taping it?’ She asked. _

_ “I didn’t really think that far ahead,” Bruce said truthfully. “I was just trying to figure out where all the pieces went right now.” _

_ ‘I’ll go get some tape. I think that’s the only way we’re going to save this.’ She was gone and back in less than a minute, having had a roll of tape in her room. _

_ “Well, since you’re here, I guess I can ask you something I’ve been meaning to. What do you want for your birthday?” _

_ Cass debated for a minute, watching her dad still working on placing the pieces in the correct spot. She made sure he was looking before signing, ‘I want a dog.’ _

_ Bruce blinked. “Okay. We’ll go to the pound next week and you can pick out a puppy.” _

That brought them to where they are now, stepping through the pound’s front doors. Cass had asked everyone to come so they could all agree on the new addition to the family before they brought it home. She’d asked for a pet for herself, obviously, but also for Duke and Dick. She was hoping a dog might help them through everything they were dealing with. 

The family looked through the puppies for about ten minutes. Dick seemed to really like a dachshund named Buddy, but he insisted that it was Cass’ choice and that she should look at other dogs before choosing Buddy because of him.

Cass walked ahead a bit as Duke and Dick pet a couple pugs and stopped in front of a cage about halfway down the aisle. She wasn’t near the puppies anymore; all the dogs back here were at least four years old. Cass glanced at the sign for the dog she was looking at. This one was a five year old German Shepherd named Ace. Cass could already feel herself falling in love.

Ace was laying down, playing with a ball. He would gnaw on it for a second, then roll it around with his nose, before grabbing it to chew again. When he noticed Cass, he stood up and made his way over to where she had stuck her hand through the cage. He sniffed her, then without warning started aggressively licking her hand. Cass laughed, pulling back a bit as it tickled her palm.

She reached her hand back in a second later to scratch behind his ears. He leaned into the touch, his mouth dropping open into a happy grin. She smiled at him, still petting.

“Think you found the one?” Bruce asked from behind her. She turned to her dad and nodded, hands too busy to sign anything.

One of the workers took Ace out of his change and brought him into a pen where they could all play with him. Cass was in love. Ace licked all of them half to death, but he never jumped on them (which is something she’d been afraid of since he was so big). They all took turns playing tug of war and fetch with him.

After half an hour, Cass pretended to mull over Bruce’s question of “Are we making Ace a Wayne?” She was pretty sure it was obvious she had made the decision long ago when she vigorously nodded, signing yes at the same time. Both Dick and Duke let out excited whoops, as they both had also fallen in love with Ace in the short amount of time they’d spent with him.

Bruce filled out the paperwork as Alfred and the kids worked on getting Ace into the car. Another fifteen minutes saw them heading to a local food store, and then home.

The first night, Ace was hesitant, searching the place that was full of new things to explore. He slept with Cass that night, as well as both her brothers.

When she woke up the next morning, Cass found Dick with his arms wrapped around Ace, both snoring softly. 

She figured she’d made the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say this just so everyone knows. I realize that some of the feelings of grief in this story aren't exactly universal. People who are particularly religious can find comfort in whatever they believe in, and that's perfectly fine. The depictions of grief in this story are based off of my relationship with it after losing someone I was close to. My family has never been really religious, so when I lost that person, I just became angry towards God instead of seeking solace in him. Since Duke is so young and his family wasn't super religious in this story, I felt his relationship with it would be similar to mine.
> 
> Originally, I was going to make Dick Christian, but I decided against it (You can still headcanon that in my story if you like, but there isn't going to be anything outright saying he's religious). I have nothing wrong with any religion. I just don't feel that it is really my place to be writing it since I myself don't believe in anything, and haven't really EVER believed in anything. Since I can't really understand, I don't want to try to write something so deep without fully grasping it.
> 
> I hope you guys understand my reasoning. I am NOT taking away that any member of the batfamily could be religious. I actually think a fic that portrayed them with multiple different religions, celebrating multiple different things, could be really beautiful. I just don't think I am fit to be the one to make it.
> 
> Thanks for being amazing, and I'm happy so many people are enjoying what I'm creating. This thing has gotten way longer than what I originally thought it would be, but I've loved every second of writing and every little bit of feedback I've gotten.


	12. Crow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biased reporters and cute dogs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first tweet is what Cass and Duke were looking at in the last chapter.


	13. Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick opens up and makes a new friend.

Duke placed a lemonade on the coaster in front of Barbara before sitting across from her, taking a sip from his own glass. They were supposed to be working on a project for school, but they had spent the last half an hour doodling on scrap paper and talking rather than making any progress on their homework. It wasn’t due for another three days. It’s fine.

Duke was in the middle of telling a story about the time Bruce had made pasta at three AM and showed him and Cass that you could know when the noodles were done by throwing them against a cabinet (Alfred was no amused when he had to get noodles off the ceiling the next morning) when Dick walked in the room. He was holding his stuffed elephant, which Duke had heard him call Zitka a few nights ago. It seemed like he was searching for something to do. He watched Dick glance at him, over to Barbara, and then back to him. It was obvious he hadn’t been planning to run into someone who wasn’t family.

“Dick, this is my friend, Barbara.”

“His best friend, specifically.”

Duke watched as the wheels in Dick’s head turned before the kid just blurted out, “Why are you in a wheelchair?”

Duke gaped, sitting there for a few seconds filled with awkward silence while they all tried to process what had just happened. “Dick! You don’t just  _ ask  _ people why they’re in a wheelchair!”

Dick slunk back, holding Zitka close to his chest. “Sorry! It just...in the circus, people don’t care about that stuff.”

“It’s okay,” Barbara started. “I don’t care to share, you just have to be careful about asking other people.” She motioned to the couch she was sitting next to, and Dick shuffled over to take a seat. “When I was only a couple years old, my family was in a car wreck. It wasn’t our fault, and I don’t remember much, but it was pretty bad. My mom died, and I couldn’t walk anymore. My dad had a really hard time after that.”

Duke gaped. “Why have you never told me this?”

“You never asked,” Barbara joked. Dick pulled Zitka even closer to his chest, which Duke was shocked was even physically possible.

“I lost my mom, too,” He muttered ever so quietly. In fact, if Duke hadn’t already been looking at Dick and seen his lips move, he probably would’ve missed it.

“I heard,” Barbara responded, giving Dick her full attention. She paused for a millisecond, and then said, “My mom used to call me Babs. That’s all my dad calls me now, because of her.” 

“Mine used to call me her little Robin.” Dick stared off into space, his mind obviously some place other than the room they were in. Duke wondered what his memory was dredging up, whether it was something good or something more unsavory.

“Well, Robin, would you like to play some games with Duke and I? We’re not gonna get any work done anyway.”

“Sure.” He seemed a little hesitant, like he was debating whether he should join or go up to his room and let grief wash over him. Duke was happy he decided to be with them.

That’s where Jim and Alfred found the kids an hour later, playing a game of Uno around the table, cracking jokes about the stupid things Ace did (like running head first into a glass door).

* * *

Dick didn’t understand how Duke and Cass were used to this. His tie was uncomfortable, his blazer was just a little too big, and his legs  _ hurt. _

The night before, he’d gone down in the basement to retrieve a controller he’d accidentally carried down with him and never brought back up. Cass has been practicing her ballet, and Dick decided to ask her to show him a few things. He still had yet to ask for any equipment for the basement, partly because he felt like he’d already asked enough of Bruce, and partly because he wasn’t really sure if he was ready to go back to it. He still tried to stretch and do a few exercises every day to stay limber, but he knew it wasn’t enough.

It was interesting, Cass trying to teach him something completely new when he barely understood sign language, but they made it work.

Dick, surprisingly, was  _ horrible  _ at it. He thought he’d at least be okay since he did gymnastics, but nope. He could barely keep track of his feet when trying to learn the simple dance Cass had been teaching him. (He did finally get it down and was extremely proud of himself for it, but it had taken nearly two and a half hours to learn thirty seconds of a dance.)

Now he was being forced to participate in a charity gala Bruce was hosting. Duke had said they were boring, but usually Bruce would let them go upstairs early if they didn’t start a fight with any of the rich people. Dick was holding him to that.

They were half an hour into the longest night of Dick’s life and his cheeks had already been pinched four times. He barely escaped by using the evasion tactic that he needed to use the bathroom. He quickly stepped into the hallway, leaning back against the wall. Three and a half more hours of this and he was  _ already  _ freaking out.

“You okay, dude?” A kid asked from in front of him, and Dick immediately jumped. When did he get there? “Woah, sorry.” He took a step back and held his hands up. “You looked like you were about to pass out.”

“Who are you?” Dick asked, not really caring that he sounded rude. The last thing he needed was for news to get around that Bruce Wayne’s new ward couldn’t handle a few socialites.

“The name’s Wally.” He grinned. His hand was suddenly right in front of Dick, who hesitantly grabbed it and shook.

“I’m Dick.”

“Oh, hey, you’re the new Wayne kid, right? I’ve talked to Duke a few times. My mom’s the caterer. Usually they don’t bring their kids, but Mr. Wayne doesn’t mind. Last time I was here he gave me this book on superheroes. Of course, I already knew most of it because who  _ doesn’t  _ know what Superman’s powers are or when the Flash first appeared. Anyway, it was really nice. My mom said I should find him and thank him again. I don’t really like these things, though, so I haven’t been looking that hard. Sorry, I’m rambling. I do that a lot. My uncle says it’s because I have ADHD and my brain works faster than my mouth. I’ll stop talking now.” Wally’s mouth clicked shut but his rambling was replaced by his bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

Dick nodded awkwardly, having no idea how to respond to anything that had just come out of Wally’s mouth. “Yeah, I was trying to get away for a second. There’s so many people out there.”

“You get used to it. It’s annoying, but you find ways to pass the time. I like the look at people and see how many of them I could stack up and fit in the room between the floor and the ceiling.”

Dick grinned at that. It actually sounded like a pretty fun challenge. “Hey, you mentioned that Bruce gave you a book. Do you like reading?”

“Yeah! I love reading. Mostly I like science books, but I’ll read anything.”

“I have this really cool book upstairs in my room if you wanna come look? It’s about leaguers and speculation behind which of them are aliens.”

“You had me at leaguers, let’s go.” Dick had to sprint to keep up with Wally even though he had no idea where Dick’s room was.

The two stripped off their suit jackets and ties, settling down in the bean bags in Dick’s room. They spent the rest of the gala going through books Bruce had bought for him.

Alfred was the one to walk in on the two. “Mister West, your mother is very worried about your whereabouts.”

“Oh crap! I forgot to tell her where I was going!” Wally was out the door in two second, yelling, “I’ll be back.”

“Back?” Dick asked, glancing to Alfred to silently ask if he had an explanation. “Doesn’t he have to go home?”

“Mister West and his mother spend the night here sometimes when she caters. Master Bruce and Mrs. West met in college, so he pays for the both of them to fly out every few months. They will most likely be spending the next two nights here.” 

Dick stood up from his seat and slid the book he’d been flipping through back in its place. “Sorry if I scared anyone. I didn’t mean to be gone the whole night, but Wally and I started talking and I wanted to show him a book and… well.”

“It is quite alright, Master Dick. You have caused much less commotion than Master Duke did at  _ his  _ first gala. Just please attempt to inform someone if you plan on leaving early in the future.”

Dick nodded quickly, surprised he wasn’t in any trouble. Even his parents would’ve said something about this, even though it would’ve been out of worry more than anything else. “I will, I promise.”

“I suggest changing out of your suit before Mister West gets back. That way you may be a little more comfortable.” Alfred made his way out the door, turning around at the last minute. One hand was resting on the knob as he spoke in a soft tone, “Master Bruce will be quite happy to hear you made a friend.” And then he was gone.

One day, Cass had told Dick (Duke had translated) that Alfred had his own way of speaking, and that sometimes it was hard for new people to try to understand what everything he said meant. Dick was pretty sure he understood what had been hidden behind Alfred’s words.

He was proud of Dick. And, well, wasn’t that something he’d been searching for this entire time?

* * *

Months passed and Dick grew more accustomed to the family. He opened up more to his therapist, and while he still ached for his parents, he began to find joy in old pastimes again. Bruce bought his some equipment for the basement, and he spent at least half an hour every day down there.

He hoped his parents were proud of him.

He wasn’t any good, but sometimes he would join Cass for her ballet. Bruce also bought him a skateboard, and Duke started teaching him a few things. He wasn’t nearly as into it as Duke seemed to be, but he still enjoyed spending time with his new brother.

Dick and Wally stayed in touch. He and his mom lived in Central city, so they were internet friends more than anything. It was nice that Bruce paid for them to visit, though, because he got to see Wally everything month or so.

Dick continued going to the soup kitchen whenever Bruce would. He liked it there, even though he  _ really  _ wished he was allowed to cook. He and Duke usually made fast work on setting up tables and cleaning dishes in the kitchen. He liked the kids there, too. He couldn’t really ever see himself hanging out with them outside of the soup kitchen, but he enjoyed their company while they were there.

Things were starting to look up again, and for the first time in a long time, Dick was content with life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kinda weird. I have a few scenes that I was debating over whether to add here or wait. Sorry updates have been a little slower. I've been working a lot and I'm trying to figure out a few plot things with the story so just bare with me. I have the gist of the plot after Jason shows up but between the end of this chapter and until then? Nothing, like literally no ideas are in my brain. So, yeah, thanks for putting up with my weird ass posting schedule and the huge length variation between chapters.


	14. Masked Cardinal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick makes a new friend and one... not so friend.

Summer came and went without much fanfare. Wally spent two weeks at the Manor, and he and Dick were basically glued to each others sides, but not much happened aside from that. Dick was spending more time with his siblings, and he was slowly but surely figuring out his role in his family.

One thing that no one tried to focus on for too long was the fact that Tony Zucco still hadn’t been caught. The police had been on his trail, but he’d gotten away. (Bruce and Alfred knew it was from corruption, but neither of them brought that up with the kids. They knew they’d figure it out when they got older, and right now they really didn’t need to give Dick another reason to run off and find Zucco himself.)

Aside from that, things were looking pretty good for the family. The new school year had started a week ago, and Dick was very happy to report that he’d made friends. Well, a friend, singular, but it still counted towards something.

Dan was awesome. He had really nice brown, curly hair that looked really soft, but Dick hadn’t asked to play with it yet. (Would that be weird?) The first time they met he’d given Dick a sticker that smelled like a blueberry. He promised to keep giving Dick stickers as long as he had them, and he’d remained true to his word. The side of Dick’s desk at home was quickly becoming a conglomerate of different fruity smells.

The two were at recess, half playing tetherball, half talking. No one wanted to play anyway, so it wasn’t like they were holding up a line for the only pole on the playground.

“And then my dad yelled ‘Not my chicken titties!’ And that’s why my brother is vegetarian.” Dick cackled at the end of Dan’s story, hitting the ball high enough that it went over Dan’s reach and came straight back to him.

“One time, Haly, the ringmaster, tried to get everyone to do a potluck. My mama was the best at cooking. She always-“ Dick was cut off by another kid in their class.

“My name’s Dick and I’m from the circus. I used to be best friends with a clown!” David laughed at his own joke as he walked by, followed by Jonas and Ben. As he spoke, he purposefully added an over exaggerated accent that didn’t even really sound like Dick’s.

“I don’t talk like that,” Dick responded but none of the boys heard him over their chatter. They had already moved onto a new subject as if they hadn’t just driven a cold stake through Dick’s heart. Did he sound like that? He didn’t think so, but people always said you sounded different to yourself than what other people heard.

“Just ignore him, he’s a jerk.” The two resumed their game, but Dick struggled to follow Dan’s advice. The rest of the day he pondered over whether David was right.

* * *

Dick and Wally tried to skype a few times a week. Right now Wally was rambling about how his teacher had banned them from talking about Flash or Kid Flash, which was totally uncool because Kid Flash was awesome and no one should have to keep quiet about it. 

“You okay, dude?” Wally asked, cutting himself off mid-sentence. It wasn’t really out of character, but he usually did it to go on a tangent with another story instead of asking Dick how he was doing.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m good.”

“If you say so.” Wally continued on with his story. 

Dick fiddled with a rainbow slinky he’d gotten as a prize from his math teacher as he listened to his best friend ramble. When there was a lull in Wally’s talking (seriously, he never seemed to breathe) Dick spoke up. “Has anyone ever made fun of you?”

Wally stuttered for a second, not having expected his friend to say anything. “Yeah, sure, a bunch of times.”

“How do you deal with it?” Dick asked again, a weird concoction of both dread and relief flooding him. Dread because Wally had been made fun of before, but relief because if anyone would understand and help him with this, it was Wally.

“Usually I talk to my Uncle Barry about it. He helps me figure out what to do. Why, is someone bullying you?” Wally leaned forward, which Dick knew meant Wally wasn’t going to be letting this subject drop easily. 

“This kid at my school likes to make fun of my accent sometimes.”

“Dude, your accent’s so cool, though!” Wally looked shocked that anyone would ever make fun of Dick for the way that he spoke. 

“He makes fun of me because I was in the circus, too.” Dick was so embarrassed now that he was saying it out loud. How did Wally manage to tell his uncle about stuff like this? He could barely get it out to his best friend, much less someone like Bruce or Alfred.

“Well he’s stupid. It’s so cool that you grew up in the circus! You got to travel the world, see the sights! I could never imagine seeing as much as you have, dude. He’s probably just jealous.” 

“Yeah...probably.” He continued to fiddle with the slinky, staring intently at the screen. “What do you think I should do?” 

“Well...I think you should tell someone. It doesn’t matter who, but preferably someone who isn’t hundreds of miles away.” 

Dick let out a small sigh. Dan knows, that’s enough right? “I will. Thanks.”

“No problem.” And then Wally was speeding off into another story and that was the end of the conversation.

* * *

Bruce had to go in for a meeting that Saturday, but Alfred had taken Dick, Duke, and Cass to the park. With very little pleading, he’d also agreed to pick up Dan.

Duke was currently skateboarding and Cass was off collecting dandelions, leaving Dan and Dick alone to sit on top of the monkey bars. They’d been chatting about a show they both liked when Dan randomly piped up, “Dick, can I tell you something?” He stares at his feet where they were dangling in the air, kicking back and forth.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Dick immediately asked, rubbing his finger over a rough patch on the bars.

“I… I think I like guys.” Dan almost flinched at the words as they left his mouth.

“Okay,” Dick stated blandly but his mind was racing ahead. Dan liked guys? Dick was a guy! Maybe Dan liked him? “That’s cool. Cass, my new sister, likes girls.”

Dan nodded, still looking at his feet. “My dad doesn’t like boys who like other boys.”

“I think your dad is stupid.” Dick didn’t think about the fact that Dan might not like him antagonizing his dad until after the words had already been said. Thankfully, Dan just glanced over and laughed a bit.

“I think so, too.” The two went back to their previous conversation. And well, if Cass noticed the two holding hands as she walked back to Alfred with a bundle of dandelions, she wouldn’t tell anyone.

* * *

The second time Dick went on the roof, he’s invited Duke to join him. (The elder texted Bruce first to tell him everything was okay. Bruce had said it was dangerous to go out there, but the window was already open and he wasn’t going to turn back now.)

The two made their way over to the spot Dick had sat the first time and both turned their heads to the sky.

“There’s the Big Dipper.” Dick leaned into Duke’s side so it was easier to show him where his finger was pointing. “There’s Capricornus.” He pointed to another cluster of stars. Duke wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to be trying to find, but he didn’t say anything. He was content to just look at the stars in general. “There’s Dolphinus.”

“It’s really pretty,” Duke commented, wrapping his arms around his legs. There was a layer of smog between them and the night sky but they could still pretty easily see everything due to the cloudless night.

“My tata used to take my mama and I out to look at the stars. He’d always do it after a really good show, and he’d teach me the constellations.” Duke looked over as Dick spoke, trying to show that he was paying attention. Dick just continued to look at the sky. “I’ve forgotten a lot of the stories, but I know what the constellations look like.”

Dick’s mouth was open to say more, but he was cut off by a thunk followed by a groan. They both looked over to the window where Bruce was halfway on the roof, rubbing a spot on his head where he had hit it on the windowsill.

“You two know it’s a school night, right?” He pointed out as he scooted over to the pair.

“Ugh, Bruce, you sound like such a parent right now,” Duke joked.

“Well, that is kind of my job.” Dick went back to looking at the sky as Bruce got settled in next to Duke. “I should ground both of you for coming out on the roof again. It’s not safe.”

“We could be doing worse things,” Duke pointed out.

“Like what?”

“Drugs.”

Bruce spluttered. “You’re eleven.”

“And this is Gotham,” Duke pointed out in return.

“Touché.”

A silence settled over them long enough for Duke to start shivering a bit. It wasn’t that cold outside, but it was windy, which made it seem chillier than it actually was. Bruce put an arm around him and pulled Duke into his side, rubbing his shoulder to try to warm him up. Even with that, Duke still shivered.

Bruce looked at the kids as they both looked at the stars. “Dick, I got a call from the commissioner.” That got a look from the two. “They found Zucco. He’s locked up, and Jim’s gonna work hard to make sure he’s there for a long time.”

Duke’s heart beat faster. Finally. He couldn’t imagine what was going through Dick’s brain with all of this. Dick’s eyebrows were knit in concentration, but his face didn’t give anything else away. 

“Thank you,” Dick responded after what felt like forever. He leaned over and put his head on his legs. Maybe he was still comprehending everything. Duke remembered the first time he’d found out that Two Face had broken out of Arkham. Bruce had to come pick him up from school because no one could calm him down. Hopefully Zucco wouldn’t be able to get out so easily.

Bruce moved his hand away from Duke to pat Dick’s shoulder a couple times before returning it to its prior placement. “You deserve so much more than the world has given you. I wish I could give you more than I have.”

That night, after Bruce had turned off his light and shut his door, Dick woke up crying. Confusion settled over him, making it hard to breathe. He jumped out of bed and sprinted across the hall to Bruce’s room, quickly getting into bed with the man. Dick checked that he was still breathing, and after being thoroughly convinced that he was still alive, Dick settled down under the covers.

The rest of his nights sleep was fitfull at best, but he’d made a decision that he was determined to stick to.

No matter what, as long as Dick was there, Bruce Wayne would never fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make sure the timeline is obvious: the last chapter ended in January and this one starts in August of the same year. Everyone birthday happened so Cass is 13, Duke is 11, and Dick is 9. I wish there was an easy way to include this in the story but I didn’t want to write a bunch of birthday scenes when nothing notable happened. Anyway I hope you enjoyed!


	15. Crested Lark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things get resolved and Bruce is surprisingly good at a game that came out in 1998.

Duke had noticed something was off about Dick. In fact, something had been off for the last month, but no one else seemed to realize. If they did, they weren’t concerned enough to bring it up to anyone else. 

He tried to mention it to Dick, but he just evaded the topic and started talking about something different. He didn’t push it, but he did keep an eye on Dick, just in case.

The answer came early October. 

Duke always waited for Dick at the end of the hallway where his class was, and then they’d walk to the car together. That day, Dick was just a little later than usual, and the reason was made apparent as soon as he came into Duke’s line of sight. He was walking quickly, almost tripping over himself with how fast he was going. Trailing behind him were three boys, all seemingly laid back. One thing was certain, though, they were calling after Dick and he was crying

“Let’s go,” Dick muttered as soon as he got close enough to Duke. He didn’t even come close to stopping, he just brushed past and started walking towards the front doors.

“Dick, what’s going on?” Duke started following his brother, trying to match his quick pace.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Yeah, Dick, go run off to mommy and daddy. Oh wait!” Duke’s heart dropped as the boys started laughing. The only thing keeping him from turning and punching those kids in the face was the fact that right now, he was more worried about making sure Dick was okay.

“Fuck you!” Duke yelled at the boys.

A nearby teacher gasped. “Language!”

“Seriously?” Duke whipped towards her. “ _ That’s  _ what you care about?” He asked, continuing to follow his brother who was obviously crying. She didn’t say anything else.

“Dick, slow down.” Dick just kept going. “Dick, they’re not following us. Dick! Just stop!” He grabbed his brother’s shoulder, effectively making him come to a halt. 

“It doesn’t matter, Duke. Can we just forget about it?” His head was bowed, his hair covering his eyes. (Alfred wanted him to get his haircut, but Dick liked it longer, so it’d been a few months since they’d last gone.)

“It  _ does  _ matter. How long have they been doing this?” He questioned.

Dick’s shoulders hunched over. “Since the school year started.”

“ _ Seriously?”  _ Duke’s mouth dropped open in shock, baffled by the idea of Dick going through this for so long and no one realizing. “Have you told anyone?”

“Dan knows.”

“And he hasn’t tried to help?”

“He does! He tells them to go away, but they just wait until he’s not around. I’m not gonna make him save me all the time! He’s got his own stuff to worry about and-”

“Okay, Dick, I understand. I just wanna know what’s been happening. Have you told an adult?” He elaborated.

“... No.”

“We need to tell someone.”

“No!” Dick shouted, looking up to Duke with pleading eyes. There were still tears running down his cheeks. “I’m fine, I promise! We don’t need to tell anyone. I’ll figure it out.”

“If it’s gone on this long, it’s not gonna stop.” Duke glanced over and saw the boys making their way towards the pair. “Let’s go.” He didn’t want his brother to be around those jerks more than absolutely necessary.

The two walked out to the car and greeted Alfred as if nothing had happened. Duke realized that Alfred probably had a pretty good idea of what was going on when he kept glancing back to check on Dick. None of them said anything, though. They all just listened to the radio as they headed home.

* * *

“Hey, Bruce, can I talk to you?” Duke asked from the door. He knew his adoptive father was probably busy, as he’d explained to all of them that the holidays brought a lot of stress with the company. With Halloween only a few weeks away, he was working a lot to get ahead of the game. When Duke had walked in, he’d been scribbling away at a piece of paper, reading glasses perched on his nose.

“I’m a little busy, bud, is it important?” Bruce didn’t glance up from the paperwork as he talked.

“Kind of, yeah.” Duke hated to interrupt Bruce, especially when he knew that what he was doing was important for a lot of people, but he didn’t think this should wait. Dick needed help, and Duke knew that at this point, he wasn’t going to be able to do much.

Bruce let out a small sigh and took his reading glasses off, placing both them and his pen on the pad he’d been writing on. “I guess I could use a break. What’s the matter?” He scooted his desk chair back and turned his full attention to Duke.

“Well, um…” Where did he start? There was so much he wanted to say.

“Come here, close the door.” Duke followed Bruce’s instructions, shocked when he shoved the things on his desk to the side and swiftly picked him up to sit on the desk’s surface. “Okay, tell me.”

“Dick’s being bullied,” Duke blurted out. 

Bruce blinked a couple times in response before pursing his lips. He nodded, signifying for Duke to keep going. And he did. He told Bruce everything that had happened. He finished, “He said it’s been happening a long time. Please don’t tell him I told you, I just wanna make it stop.”

“It will, I’ll make sure of it. I’m not going to let Dick get bullied, so don’t worry about that.” Bruce rubbed his hand up and down Duke’s arm a few times. “Thank you for telling me. You did the right thing, okay?”

Duke leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Bruce. “Thank you.” He didn’t really know what he was thanking him for, but he felt like it needed to be said.

“Anytime.”

* * *

Bruce sat down in the chair across from Principal Abraham. It was just the two adults for right now, but Bruce wasn’t afraid to ask to bring in the boys and their parents if it came to that.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Wayne?” Mr. Abraham sat straight and stiff, as if he was trying to show his authority at all times. Bruce, on the contrary, was relaxed, leaning back in his chair as comfortably as he could with the hard seat.

“It was brought to my attention that one of my kids is being bullied. I’m aware that you’re a busy guy and have probably not been made aware of this situation, but I wanted to make it known so it could be taken care of.”

“Hm.” Mr Abraham turned to his computer and started typing. “Which one of your children was it, again?”

“Dick, Richard Grayson,” he supplied, and Abraham typed a few seconds longer. 

“In my records it shows that Dick has had multiple lunch detentions for getting into fights. His grades also seem to be declining.”

“Yes, which is easily a sign that he is going through some emotional issues right no w. He lost his parents less than a year ago, I’m not surprised by that. I’ ve talked to him about it before, but that isn’t what I’m here to discuss. Unless you want to insinuate that  _ two  _ of my children are lying to me about the same situation in order to cover for the fact that Dick’s having some behavioral issues that, might I repeat, are being taken care of.” Bruce raised his eyebrows. The man across from him shifted in his seat. Bruce didn’t like when anyone insinuated that his kids were lying to him, because from day one he’d always told them to be truthful with him. He wouldn’t judge them, and he would rather have them say they didn’t want to talk about it than lie directly to his face. “Also, have you ever taken the time to think that, just maybe, those fights weren’t started by him? Or maybe he  _ did  _ start them. but out of self defense?” What was it about these kinds of people? So many people Bruce had to deal with on a daily basis believed the first person who talked to them and never tried to see any other point of view. They never even  _ considered  _ that there could be another point of view, which really worried Bruce about the future of the world.

“The paperwork just states facts, Mr. Wayne. And those are the facts.”

“ _ Here’s  _ the facts for you, Mr. Abraham.” Bruce leaned forward in his seat, close enough to the man to see his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped. Good thing this guy wasn’t a businessman, he wouldn’t last an hour in a boardroom. “Either these kids will be taught that their bullying needs to stop, or I will withdraw my kids from this school, as well as my donations.”

Mr. Abraham scoffed, seeming to forget for a second why he’d been terrified only moments ago. “Are you threatening me with your money, Mr. Wayne?”

“Yes, I am,” Bruce responded blandly. “Is it working?”

Bruce knew his donations amounted to around 35% of the school’s yearly income. They couldn’t afford to lose that, and he always knew that Mr. Abraham was acutely aware of that fact. (In truth, Bruce would never pull that kind of money. No matter how bratty some kids were, they still deserved a good education. But Mr. Abraham seemed to piss himself a little at the thought of losing Bruce’s money, so what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.)

“There is only so much I can do Mr. Wayne.” Bruce took this as his cue to state his terms.

“I don’t need you to suspend these kids, I just need them to learn that they need to leave other kids alone. From what Duke, my other son, was saying, those kids were bringing up things Dick can’t control.” What Bruce wanted was to scare those kids. Not terribly, but enough to realize that what they were doing was not okay. “All I ask is that you get all those boys and their parents down here. I can give you the names.”

“Are you wanting this to happen right now?” Mr. Abraham asked, astonished.

“What better time?” Bruce leaned back in his chair, giving an air that he was willing to wait as long as he had to.

“Well, their parents are probably at work right now-“

“And in the time I’ve been here I’ve missed two meetings, going on a third. I will match their pay for the time they’re gone, as well as a little extra for gas and such. Just, please do make it quick.” In less than ten minutes, all of the boys parents were on their way.

* * *

“Tell it again!” Dick shouted from his place at the dinner table, a grin settled on his face.

“Dick, I’ve already told it three times.” Bruce feigned annoyance, but he was really just happy everything had worked out.

“Yeah but Dan’s only heard it once!” Every one of Bruce’s kids had a friend over. It wasn’t necessarily a celebration because of what happened with Dick, but it could be seen like that. Cass had Stephanie over, Duke had Barbara, and Dick had Dan. (Bruce had wished he could get Wally here, but he lived too far away for that, especially on such short notice.)

“Mr. Abraham called in all of the boys’ parents. We all talked. The McCraws got accused of being child abusers, Mrs. Walden was accused of alcoholism. Ya’know how those meetings tend to go. Anyway, none of them seemed to know what their kids were doing. So the boys got called down, got a stern talking to from both their parents and the principal, and Mr. Abraham says that he’ll try to keep a better eye out for bullying in the future.” Bruce knew that was a lie, he would just make sure  _ Bruce’s  _ kids were comfortable so he didn’t come in and cause a problem again. He wouldn’t tell that to Dick, though, and neither would he be telling any of them that the motivational speaker that was going to visit them in a month was all paid for via the education division on Wayne Enterprises.

“That’s so dope!” Dick exclaimed excitedly before shoveling a bite of pizza into his mouth. 

“It is really cool, Mr. Wayne.” Dan commented around a piece of stuffed crust. 

Bruce half listened as the kids talked about their days, making a mental checklist of all the paperwork he needed to fill out tonight before he could rest. The list was growing longer and longer by the second, and he was seriously debating how much Alfred would disapprove if he pulled an all-nighter. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last, but the tired look Alfred always had on his face was enough to make him want to apologize for everything wrong he’d ever done. 

Bruce tuned back in to hear Dick say, “It’s kind of scary to think that Jack and Annie could die in any period in time and no one would ever know. They would never be identified and none of their friends or family would get closure.”

A beat of silence.

“Dick, that was depressing as fuck.”

“Language, Duke,” Bruce warned before even processing what had just come out of his youngest’s mouth. “Wait, are you talking about the Magic Treehouse?”

“Yes,” Dick responded in a deadpan.

“On that note,” Alfred spoke up from where he’d entered the room a few moments before Dick had spoken. “Kids, I think it’s time you go set up the living room.”

“Yes!” Stephanie shouted excitedly, zipping out of her chair so quickly that it teetered dangerously close to falling over.

“I’ll grab some blankets. Come on Dan!” Dick shouted, grabbing Dan’s hand to pull him towards the hall where the spare covers were.

Bruce sighed as Duke and Barbara moved to follow the direction Dan and Dick had gone. Cass patted her dad’s arm before leaving the room as well. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

Bruce had been right about one thing. It was only two and he already felt like three days had been crammed into one. He’d done paperwork until three AM, and then been woken up at seven by hungry children who didn’t dare wake Alfred up (even though the man would’ve been more than happy to prepare them breakfast). Bruce had made chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, which was quickly devoured by the six children left in his care.

The kids amused themselves for about an hour, but quickly got bored in the old Manor. Bruce had walked into the living room the kids had been sleeping in with a mug of coffee, wishing immediately that he had decided against it. In the middle of the pile of blankets and pillows that had been laid down was poor Ace. The disgruntled dog was wearing three socks, all of which were different colors, a tutu, a superman cape, and a Gotham U baseball cap (Bruce seriously didn’t know where the kids had found the hat, but he decided his mental health would be better off if he just didn’t question it).

He decided in that moment that it would be best to just put his coffee in a travel mug and get all of the kids out of the house.

Their first destination was the park. Bruce had plans for the day, but the building didn’t open until noon, and it was only nine when they left the house. The kids entertained themselves there for a little while, and then they all went out for lunch before making their way to to the place they’d be spending the rest of their day.

All of the kids looked at the building in awe, their eyes already twinkling in joy as they debated over which direction to go first. Bruce kept one eye on the kids as he worked on paying for everything.

When all of the kids were rounded up in front of him and he was explaining that he wanted everyone to check in every hour or so, he felt kind of like a chaperone on a field trip. If that field trip only had one chaperone, and was to the biggest arcade in the area.

He handed out the game cards and then set them free, his chest filling with a bit of anxiety as he realized just how  _ stupid  _ this was. The arcade wasn’t especially huge, but it wasn’t exactly small either. He wanted to give the kids free reign, but he also couldn’t keep an eye on all of them from one spot.

‘ _ It’s fine, Bruce. They’re old enough to be aware of what’s around them. They’ll come find you if something goes wrong. And they’ll stay in pairs, someone would notice if something was amiss.’  _ He grabbed a quick, cheap cup of coffee from the pizza place inside the arcade and sat down at one of the tables. He pulled out his tablet and started working as the kids played.

Bruce has a lot to deal with right now. The company was at an all time high. Stocks were amazing, and there wasn’t a single day that anyone in the business didn’t have  _ something  _ to do. Wayne Enterprises was still working with schools in the area to provide the best education possible. On top of that, there were funds going towards solar panels being strategically placed wherever possible (including in gargoyles, because Bruce had heard one too many people complaining about keeping Gotham ‘aesthetic’) and multiple mental health facilities that were in the process of being built. There was a ton of stuff happening in Gotham on top of that, and it didn’t even include what he was doing outside of the city.

The kids checked in periodically like he’d asked, barely taking the time to get a word out before running to the next activity (Bruce made a mental note to get them to drink some water soon). They all seemed to be having a pretty good time for the first hour and a half, and Bruce was able to get quite a bit done. And then Dick came running over. 

“Bruce, Dan doesn’t wanna play DDR but I wanna play against someone!”

“Go get Duke or Cass. I’m sure one of them is willing to play with you.”

“They’re both busy.”

“What do you want me to do?” Bruce asked, pulling his reading glasses off. He knew as soon as he saw the glint in Dick’s eye that he shouldn’t have asked that question.

That’s how Bruce ended up playing DDR against his eight year old kid, trying desperately to go easy on him. After a single round of it, Dick looked up at him and shouted. “Your age is showing, old man!” 

“I’m not old!” He returned indignantly.

“Say that to your creaky bones.” Oh it was  _ on _ . Thus lead to another two rounds of Bruce utterly annihilating his kid in a dance off. By the end of it, a group of people had formed around them to take videos of Bruce Wayne winning a game of DDR by nearly 20,000 points.

“He got almost a perfect score!” Someone in the crowd murmured. Bruce turned to Dick, who was gaping. Once the boy noticed Bruce looking at him, he grinned.

“Didn’t know you had it in ya’.” He raised his token card. “Again?”

After blasting through six more of Dick’s tokens, they finally called it quits and Dick ran off to find Dan once more. In the end, Bruce won every round.

* * *

“Where’s B?” Duke asked over breakfast a few days later. It was a chilly Thursday, and usually by this time on a work day, Bruce would’ve already gone through a cup and a half of coffee.

“I’m afraid Master Bruce had to make a  _ very  _ last minute business trip.” By the way Alfred talked, he didn’t seem too pleased about the situation. “He will be back by Sunday,” Alfred finished as he placed their eggs and toast in front of them.

“Will he be back in time to take us trick or treating?” Dick asked stabbing at an egg with his fork. Sunday was Halloween, and Dick was  _ really  _ excited.

“He plans to be,” Alfred responded noncommittally, letting them know that he meant Bruce would try his best. And so, the day went on as normal as it could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me about 2 months to write, so that's fun.   
Anyway! I don't know if I'm fully back yet because there's still a ton of stuff going on in my life (still in the process of moving), but I have a little more free time now so here's to hoping!


	16. Rosy Starling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Depiction of internalized homophobia and an anxiety attack (It's not very descriptive but I wanted to put this warning there just in case)
> 
> I'll put a note at the end summarizing what happened. The scene is surrounded by breaks, but it starts with "Dick tried to keep busy as much as possible." and ends with "He'd set some food aside for them to eat at a later time."

Bruce wasn’t back in time for Halloween, which he apologized for profusely both over skype and in person once he was back. None of them really minded much. Alfred had taken them all out, and Ace was more than happy to be going on such a long walk. Bruce was back by November third, setting aside a day to be with the kids to make up for not being there. They went to the aquarium (Dick’s choice), the skate park (Duke’s choice), and then ended the day with McDonalds and copious amounts of ice cream while perched in the movie room, watching a movie (Cass’ choice).

It has been an… interesting day. Duke somehow roped him into learning how to skateboard, which ended in what Bruce already knew would be a bruised hip. 

“I love my kids,” Bruce started as Alfred handed him an ice pack. All three of them were in their rooms for the night. He’d always told them that they should sleep at 9, which was when he made them go into their rooms on school nights, but they never _ had _ to. They were allowed to leave for water or the bathroom, but the point of it was that they couldn’t be running around the manor playing a game of tag at midnight on a school night (which _ had _ happened before, even with the rule in place). Point is, Bruce didn’t really have any idea if any of his kids were _ actually _asleep, but they were at least tucked away in their rooms.

“Am I correct in assuming a ‘but’ will soon follow that statement?” Alfred asked.

“But-“ Bruce smiled at the butler. “They make me feel old.”

Alfred just let out a snort. “I’m sure you will be feeling the effects even more when you’re fifty,” he replied pointedly and Bruce rolled his eyes.

“Okay, _ Alf_, But we all know you’re _ actually _old.” That comment earned Bruce a slap on the back of the head. “Kidding! You know I’m kidding.”

“Respect your elders.” Alfred spoke seriously, but Bruce could tell by the glint in his eyes that he was more amused than anything. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about your trip. I assume everything went smoothly?”

“Yeah, for the most part.” He pushed a few strands of hair out of his face. “A lot of things got postponed, which is why I stayed longer than I wanted to. I ended up meeting the CEO over dinner because of how busy she was.”

Alfred let out a small sound of interest. “And how did _ that _go?”

“It went well. Let me tell you, Talia al Ghul is a very interesting woman.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Bruce had the decency to blush. Alfred saw straight through him. “Yeah, Alf. Don’t chastise me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Master Bruce. You are a grown man and can make your own decisions.” 

“Nothing’s going to come of it, Alfie. It was a one time thing, I promise. It was mutual. We both are too busy to even _ think _about having any sort of relationship. We’re both running multi-million dollar businesses and I have the kids to think about.”

Alfred hummed. “You are _ allowed _to have a relationship. Just, preferably, someone a little closer to home.”

Bruce shrugged. “I don’t really want one right now anyway. The kids need me too much.”

“Well,” the Butler started towards the door of the sitting room. “If you change your mind, I will support you no matter what.”

“Thanks Alf, it means a lot.” He couldn’t help but smile to himself as the older man walked out, probably going to finish cleaning up the kitchen before heading to bed. 

Bruce stayed there for a few more minutes, soaking in the silence while he could. Did he want a relationship? Maybe… maybe later. Maybe when his kids were a little older. He couldn’t see himself getting any more kids right now. The three he had were enough for him. He already felt like he didn’t dedicate enough time to them, that they each deserved so much more than he could ever give them. 

Was he a good dad? Sometimes he doubted it. He couldn’t give them the attention they each deserved, and he absolutely loathed the thought of spoiling his kids with money and gifts to make up for the fact that he had a company to run and couldn’t be home as much as he would like. Maybe he should take a vacation soon…

Bruce sighed and pushed himself up from the chair, bringing the ice pack with him to his bedroom. He could put it back in the freezer in the morning.

* * *

Dick tried to keep busy as much as possible. After a while, he began to realize that the more he was alone, the more time he had to think. And the more time he had to think, the more he remembered his parents. As much as he loved them, he couldn’t handle it all the time. Sometimes he just wanted to escape, didn’t want to think about how different his life would be if that day just hadn’t happened. 

Most of the time when this happened, he could go to someone. He’d ask Alfred to go to the park and they could walk Ace, or he’d ask Cass and Duke to play a game with him. A couple times he’d even asked Bruce to play a few rounds of Uno with him, which once turned into a very competitive duel over a bag of gummies (Bruce won, but he just took a couple and gave Dick the rest of the bag). Alfred would usually keep him company as he cleaned or cooked if there was no one else. If none of them were available, like the situation today, he would turn to Wally. They would FaceTime or Skype until Dick’s cheeks hurt from laughing so much and he could barely remember the feeling of sadness. 

Dick had texted Wally almost an hour ago, and he still hadn’t looked at it. Which was completely fine! Wally has been hanging out a lot recently with his Uncle Barry, and Dick was really happy for him. Wally _ really _liked his uncle, and he deserved to be happy. It’s just, sometimes Dick missed his best friend. 

In any case, Dick didn’t really have anyone else to go to, since Dan was busy. Alfred was finishing up some errands, Cass had ballet, Duke was with Barbara, and Bruce was in the midst of a last minute conference call. So that left Dick sitting in front of his laptop, not having much to do. All the games he tried playing didn’t help distract him, so he’d turned to something else.

Google.

You see, Dick had recently found out that Google was really easy to get sucked into. You look up one simple question about how big rabbits are and thirty minutes later you could write a 5 page paper on the Argenté Bleu rabbit. No, Dick wasn’t speaking from experience, how could you even insinuate that?

Today, Dick decided to look up some facts about the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. They’d learned a little about it in class already, and he found it really interesting. So, he looked up stuff about the Civil Rights Movement, which lead to reading things about the Vietnam War, which quickly turned into him deciding he’d rather look into the fashion of the time period, which ultimately somehow lead him to a Wikipedia article on the Stonewall Riots. He honestly didn’t know how he ended up there from fashion, but he was on the page for ten minutes before transferring to another site to read more about how gay people were treated at the time.

As he read, he couldn’t help but tense up. How could this have ever happened? Sure, there were still horrible people out there, but he couldn’t imagine being afraid of being himself like they were. They lived their lives knowing that any day, they could be hurt for being who they were… or worse. 

His stomach churned as he thought about Cass. She was amazing. She was patient, listened to Dick when he needed it, played games with him, and most importantly, she didn’t treat him like a fragile vase about three seconds from imploding. And she was gay. 

Had she been afraid to come out? Had she known Bruce would be accepting? What about Alfred? What if someone at the school found out and bullied her just for being gay? Cass was wonderful, but what if people decided they hated her just because of who she liked?

His thoughts quickly shifted to Dan. Thoughtful, kind, shy, beautiful Dan. He’d been so nervous when he told Dick the fact that he liked guys. Of course Dick didn’t care, growing up in a circus, you realize that people’s differences don’t matter that much. They do, because they make everyone unique, but they don’t matter in the bad way that everyone wants to make it matter. People are people and love is love. Dick suddenly hoped Dan knew he accepted him. 100%, fully accepted him, because Dick didn’t _ ever _want anyone he cared about to go through some of the things he just read.

Dick was suddenly happy he wasn’t gay because he wouldn’t have to go through coming out. People just assumed he was straight, which he was, and he would never have to explain. Right? He wouldn’t have to worry about people hating him because of the gender of the person he liked. 

There was a soft rap at Dick’s door, pulling him away from his thoughts. He quickly snapped his laptop shut and turned towards the door where Bruce was slowly peaking his head in. “Hey kiddo, I just finished up my meeting. I’m heading out to get Cass and Duke, I thought you might want to come.”

Bruce’s top half was in a nice button up, a tie, and a suit jacket, while his bottom was a pair of joggers and mis-matched socks. (The first time Dick had seen this, he’d been thoroughly confused, but Duke quickly explained that Bruce didn’t have to wear the full suit for a meeting over Skype because they couldn’t see his whole body. Dick figured it made sense to be as comfortable as possible, and the conversation had moved on from there.) “Sure.” He nodded. “I’ll get my jacket.”

“Okay, I’m gonna change real quick then I’ll meet you by the garage door.”

“Got it.” Bruce clicked the door back shut and Dick hopped off his chair, mind buzzing with thoughts. What would it be like if he _ was _gay? Bruce didn’t care that Cass liked girls, but what if it was different because he was a guy? What if Bruce thought two gay kids was one too many? ...What would his parents have thought?

Dick’s heart hurt as he pulled a pair of socks on then made his way downstairs to grab his coat and shoes. His head felt like every one of his thoughts was being covered in TV static. He focused on his feet as he walked down the steps as if the steady beat of his walking would make his heart calm down. The last time he’d been able to feel his pulse like this was…

He didn’t realize he’d tripped down the last few steps until Bruce was in front of him, a look of concern covering his face. “Dick? You alright bud?” Dick gasped for air. He felt like he couldn’t get enough into his lungs. Why couldn’t he breathe? He was going to _ die _.

“Is it okay if I touch you?” Bruce asked and Dick didn’t know why that was pertinent but _ yes god yes please help _.

It only took Bruce a few seconds to scoop Dick up into his lap, enveloping him in warmth. He buried his head into Bruce’s chest and decided he was going to stay there until he was forced to leave. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he muttered around breaths, tears beginning to streak down his face.

“There’s absolutely nothing to be sorry for. Anxiety attacks aren’t something you can help.” Is that what this was? He’d never felt like this before. He felt so useless, like the world around him had decided he wasn’t good enough and decided that _ right now _was when he needed to die. Fate couldn’t even wait to kill him in his sleep. It was only as Bruce started talking again that he realized he hadn’t been apologizing for panicking. “I want you to breathe with me, alright. Just do your best.” Dick didn’t think he could, but he was afraid Bruce would get mad and leave if he didn’t, so he nodded. 

Bruce started counting, and Dick tried to follow his lead, but it didn’t work. His breath hitched and he became even more out of breath than he’d been in the first place. “It’s not-” he let out a sob, shoving his head further into Bruce’s chest. “It's not working!”

“Okay,” Bruce responded in the softest voice Dick thought he’d ever heard. “We’ll try something else, okay? Everything will be okay. Let’s try this.” He gave a small explanation and then started working Dick through the new breathing technique. He had to hold his breath for a shorter amount of time, and in a few minutes, his breathing had evened out. His heart wasn’t racing anymore, and he didn’t feel quite so scared, but he was so _ tired _ now. He curled more into Bruce’s chest, latching onto the fabric of his t-shirt. He knew he needed to pick up Cass and Duke, but he wanted him to _ stay. _

“C’mere,” Bruce muttered, shifting Dick around a little. After a couple seconds, Dick was being lifted off the ground as the elder stood, carrying him back upstairs. Once they got there, Dick expected to be dropped off in his room, but that wasn’t what happened. Bruce continued down the hall until he reached his own bedroom, shuffling Dick around just enough to turn the knob on his door. Once it was unlatched, he used his foot to push it open the rest of the way. Bruce set Dick down on the bed, walking away for just long enough to grab his phone before settling in next to him. Dick immediately moved to cuddle into Bruce’s side.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered again.

“Don’t be, okay? Everyone in this house has had anxiety attacks before, I’m just happy you’re okay. I was really worried when I heard you fall.” Dick honestly hadn’t even felt it. His knee was aching a little now that he thought about it, but he hadn’t noticed when it actually happened. Was that normal? He didn’t think it was. “I’m going to call Alf and see if he can pick Duke and Cass up. We can stay here as long as you need.”

Dick nodded, shuffling a little before settling into a spot, using Bruce’s arm as a pillow. 

He was asleep before Bruce was even off the phone.

(Alfred walked into Bruce’s bedroom nearly an hour after their discussion on the phone, planning to let Bruce know he was home with Cass and Duke and would start dinner momentarily. The words died on his tongue as he found Bruce with closed eyes, small breaths escaping his slightly parted lips. Dick was basically on top of him, koala-ed to Bruce’s side with a leg kicked over the man’s torso. Alfred quietly stepped back out, closing the door behind him. He’d set some food aside for them to eat at a later time.)

* * *

Duke placed a green reverse in the pile, sending the turn back to Dick. “Uno,” he announced, holding his last card close to his chest so no one could peak. 

It was a Saturday, the night the family set aside to volunteer. A few weeks ago, Duke had decided to start bringing some games to entertain the other kids. It was late enough now that there were only three of them in the game; Duke, Dick, and a kid named Roy that they’d met a few weeks ago.

“You whore!” Roy swore in return to the declaration, looking over his cards. “Dick, do you have a draw two?”

“Yeah!” Dick got excited at the prospect of preventing Duke from winning.

“Play it!” Roy exclaimed. Dick quickly plopped it down, followed by Roy doing the same since stacking was allowed.

Duke paused dramatically, letting out a sigh. “I hate… to break it to you but I WIN!” Duke threw down his own draw two, effectively getting rid of his last card.

“God dammit.” Roy threw down his last four cards into the discard pile, and Dick followed suit in a much calmer manner. “That’s the fifth game in a row!”

“What can I say?” Duke began as he shrugged, feigning modesty. “I’m the Uno Master!”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.” Duke reaches forward to straighten up the deck so they could play another game. As Duke did that, Roy scanned the room before biting his lip. He glanced towards the kitchen then turned back to the two boys. “Could I ask you a small favor?”

Duke hadn’t know Roy that long, and they couldn’t be considered close in any sense of the word, but Duke was certain he knew at least one thing about Roy. If he got serious about asking for something, you listened, and did your best to follow through, because he rarely had bad intent when it came to favors. “Yeah, what’s up?” Duke asked, still shuffling the deck. 

“Is there any way I could get a meal to go? There’s…” Roy paused then leaned in closer. “There’s this kid. He gets weird when I try to get him to come here. I think he’s spooked by all the adults, think they’re gonna try to call CPS or something. I told him they won’t, but he don’t believe me. Anyway, you think you could do that for me?”

Duke nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go grab him some stuff. Be right back.” He swung his body over the bench and walked into the kitchen. He quickly explained the situation, to which Mrs. Valentino responded by grabbing a to go container and heaping it full with food. “You tell Roy,” She started as she snapped the box closed and placed it in Duke’s grasp. “That the next time he needs food, to come to me right away. I want this boy to have a warm meal, ya’ hear me?”

“Yes ma’am,” Duke agreed before scampering back out to Roy. He repeated what Mrs. Valentino had said, which made Roy grin.

“Will do.” He swung over the bench, taking the box from Duke. “I’m gonna go give him this. I’ll see you guys Saturday?” He asked.

“We’ll be here!” Dick responded easily before the two watched Roy leave. “I like him,” Dick commented as he stood up, collecting their dishes.

“Yeah, me too.” And that’s what scared him. He knew what could happen to people living on the streets. He really hoped Roy and the other kid stayed out of trouble, and more importantly, made it through winter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically what happened is Dick started finding out things that happen to LGBTQ+ people and had a panic attack over something happening to someone he cares about. He has a few thoughts about how he happy he's not gay because he doesn't have to go through those things. Bruce helps him through the panic attack and they fall asleep together in Bruce's bed.


	17. Mountain Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to see what Bruce does when he's alone sometimes, and then a nice family Thanksgiving with some special guests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to HoldTightAndPretendItIsAPlan for the ideas! I haven't been able to implement all of them yet, and some of them have only been mentioned in passing, but all of them have been really helpful so far!
> 
> This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I liked the way this finished off so I decided to just post this. It's a lot of fluff with some added backstory, but I hope you enjoy! More of the main plot will pick back up in the next chapter.

Bruce was surrounded by papers, marker in his mouth. His laptop sat precariously on top of a pile of books in the middle of the chaos that was his desk. There was a stack of manila folders to the left of him and to the right was a cold cup of coffee as well as a knocked over pencil holder. His pens were scattered around in front of him, and behind him was a white board with a few important notes. The man himself was sat in his desk chair, leaned back as far as it would allow. He was still in his work clothes, but his jacket and tie had been taken off. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and his sleeves were rolled up to just before his elbows. One arm was laying on the arm rest while the other was holding his head up as he stared blankly at his computer.

He was  _ missing something.  _ It was there, he knew it was, but the dots weren’t connecting. He figured that’s why it had been a cold case for ten years now, but he refused to let it go now. He’d been working on this one case for a month now, and he was determined. 

“Shut up!” Dick whispered yelled, shoving Duke’s hand off of him. “Stop pushing me!”

“You have to tell him. He’ll be less mad than Alfred will!” Duke responded.

‘Well…’ Cass interjected. 

“Okay, yeah…” Duke agreed quietly.

“What?” Dick asked nervously, messing with the hem of his shirt. 

‘Alfred won’t be outwardly mad, but he’ll give you a disappointed look and make sure your food is bland for the next few days. Bruce will get mad for a minute and then take care of it and forget it by tomorrow,’ Cass explained. 

“Trust me, you want to tell Bruce.”

“Ugh…” Dick moaned, turning towards the door. He didn’t want to have to admit that he’d broken a vase because Duke and Cass had dared him to try to surf down the banister on the stairs. It’s not his fault he thought he had more room to flip off the end! And it’s really not his fault that his foot slipped and he almost fell halfway down. Really, in retrospect, it was all Duke’s fault, because he was the one who said he was bored and suggested that Dick show off his skills. 

He silently opened the door, peaking his head in. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused at the scene in front of him. After a few seconds, he pulled back and quietly clicked the door shut. He’d never seen Bruce like that before, and he was honestly kind of scared to interrupt him. “He looks… busy.”

Cass shook her head and Duke just commented, “Your funeral,” before the three slunk off to tell Alfred about the mess.

* * *

“Duke, can you go get the door?” Bruce asked as he worked on pulling potatoes out of the boiling water. It was Thanksgiving day, and he and Alfred were finishing up dinner.

“Who is it?” He asked, but slid out of his seat and made his way to the front door anyway. 

“It’s Clark!” Bruce called after the kid.

“What’s Clark doing here?” Dick piped up as Duke opened the door. Clark Kent stood on the other side, Lois next to him. The woman had a pie in hand and they both wore matching grins. 

“Hey, kiddo!” Clark greeted as Duke stepped back to let them in. 

“...Hey Clark?” Duke responded, confused. Last he’d heard, dinner was going to be family only. Had Bruce told  _ anyone  _ that the Kents were coming? “Everyone’s in the kitchen.” 

As the three headed in that direction, a shout was heard. “Master Bruce!” A clatter followed, to which Clark took off like a shot, running into the kitchen before Duke could even comprehend that the man was running.

Duke slid into the kitchen a few moments later, followed by Lois. The scene in the kitchen was… definitely something. On the ground, right next to the oven, was the turkey. Bruce stood above it, oven mitts still on his hands, just staring at it. Alfred stood behind him with a fire extinguisher that had been sprayed onto the stove.

“What happened?” Lois asked worriedly after a few seconds where she processed what was in front of her.

“I dropped the turkey,” Bruce muttered, still staring at the meat with a defeated look. 

“After he dropped the turkey, the potatoes caught on fire,” Alfred finished roughly, setting the fire extinguisher down on the counter. With a sigh, he pulled open a drawer and extracted a take out menu. It was rare that they ordered food, mostly only happening when Alfred was told to take a day off, but the man felt that it was needed right now. For his own sake.

An hour later, the family and their guests were gathered in the dining room, take out cartons in hand. Lois and Bruce laughed as Dick desperately tried to teach Clark how to use chopsticks (after five minutes of no progress, the man just settled on a fork). 

Dinner went as smoothly as possible after that, which wasn’t smooth at all. Bruce wasn’t really sure what he’d expected with his family.

After dinner, Bruce, Alfred, and Lois had worked together to get everything cleaned up. Less than five minutes in, there was a crash that sent Bruce flying out of the kitchen with barely enough time to set down the silverware he’d been placing in the dishwasher. “What happened?” He called, sliding in the room.

Nothing had happened, he quickly found. Not really. Dick was sitting on the floor at Clark’s feet, his mouth wide open in a grin. On Clark’s back were both Cass and Duke, looking like they were about to fall off from laughing so hard. And then there was the man himself, Clark, staring down at Dick with the most concerned look Bruce had ever seen adorn the man's face. 

“Are you okay?” Clark squeaked at Dick, bending over to check on him as best he could with two children still on his back.

“I’m great!” Dick shouted, bouncing up from where he’d been sitting. “That was fun!”

Clark glanced to Bruce and shook his head. “That was terrifying.”

“Again!” Dick shouted. 

“No!” Clark immediately shouted back.

“What did you do?” Bruce interrupted.

“Well, I was trying to show him what a farm’s like. So I picked him up and started carrying him around like a sack of feed.”

“His mouth tickled!” Dick broke in, and Clark’s eyes widened in alarm.

“I blew a raspberry on his stomach to signify the animals eating him. But when I was doing that, these two munchkins climbed on my back and I lost my grip on Dick. He landed on his back, his head should be fine.”

Bruce nodded once, biting back a smile. “So what I’m hearing is  _ this _ .” He scooped Dick up, who didn’t put up any sort of protest like Bruce would’ve thought. He threw the boy over his shoulder and made a show of walking around, making sure to bump Dick around just a bit. “You were taking the sack of feed out to the barns.” The boy squirmed slightly as Bruce made sure he had a good grip on Dick’s legs and placed his other hand on his back. “Then you went to dump the food out.” He flipped Dick back over his shoulder so he was upside down, holding him securely to his chest, and shook him around a little. “Oh, and then you can’t forget! The animals gotta eat!” He leaned forward and blew a raspberry on the bare part of Dick’s stomach where his shirt had ridden up. The boy broke into peals of laughter, which Bruce grinned along to. 

He’d never heard Dick laugh that much.

“Exactly!” Clark grinned as Bruce carefully set Dick back down on his feet, who swayed a bit at the suddenness of his blood flowing away from his brain and to the rest of his body.

“Again!” He threw his hands up again, showing he wanted Bruce to pick him up again.

“I think that’s enough for right now, kiddo. Alfred might have dessert ready soon!”

“Yes!” Duke yelled as he and Cass hopped off Clark’s back. The three kids ran back into the kitchen area, leaving Clark and Bruce alone.

“You’re good for them,” Clark commented as soon as they knew there were no snooping ears.

“I just gave them a safe place after things went wrong for them.” Bruce moved to tidy up the couch that he could tell the kids had been playing on before messing with Clark.

“It’s more than that, though. You could’ve just donated money to foster care, or helped get them into a home you knew was trustworthy. You gave them a chance, Bruce, when no one else would. These aren’t my views, but we have to face the facts. Duke probably wouldn’t have been adopted, purely because of his skin. Cass might have, but no one wants to adopt or foster a kid who doesn’t speak. They don’t want to put in that kind of effort. Dick would’ve been the most likely to be adopted, but from what you’ve told me? He’s angry, and that’s  _ after _ he’s had time to calm down. I can’t imagine what he’d be like after being spit out on the other end of the system. You  _ saved  _ them.”

It was weird hearing it said out loud. Duke and Cass had both Bruce that they were grateful for everything he’d done for them, and even Alfred had commemorated him for being such a good parent when he didn’t have a spouse to help out (although they both agreed that Alfred helped more than Bruce would ever be able to repay. The butler was adamant that it wasn’t something he needed anything of monetary value for. He was obviously just as partial to the kids as Bruce was). It was just odd hearing it come from an outside source, from someone who wasn’t  _ in  _ the family, who didn’t see the workings of it on a daily basis. Most people assumed he adopted them for greedy reasons, for good press, to show off that he could be an okay parent, and then would hand them off to Alfred as soon as they were behind closed doors. Some people even said he did it to raise his chances of finding a woman to marry, which was completely absurd to him. He loved his kids, and while he would never complain if he came across the love of his life, he also would never use them as a way to find that. He was happy enough the way things were right now. It was hard, balancing everything going on in his life, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Bruce would never live  _ through  _ his kids, but he did live  _ for  _ them.

“I just gave them everything they deserved. And sometimes, it’s still not enough.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets so he would stop fiddling with the pillows. “They deserve someone better, someone who can give them more time.”

Clark placed his hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “Might I remind you that you take off two days a month to spend with your kids? The media  _ blew up  _ when you announced that, even more than when you figured out the Jack the Ripper case.”

“It wasn’t really that hard,” Bruce pointed out. “The police just overlooked some very obvious evidence.”

Clark shook his head, sighing. “Remind me why we’re friends again?”

“We were pen pals in fifth grade and never stopped writing. We met face to face in high school and the rest was history,” Bruce responded in a deadpan.

“Anyway,” Clark continued loudly. “The point I’m trying to make is that you  _ definitely  _ do enough for your kids. You do more than most CEOs would, trust me. A lot of people look up to your parenting skills, including me.”

“Oh?” Bruce tilted his head slightly, giving his friend a once over. “Is there something you’ve neglected to tell me, Clark?”

Clark shot him an exasperated look. “ _ No _ , Bruce. Lois isn’t pregnant, and we’re not planning on trying any time soon.”

“So what I’m hearing is that, sometime in the future, there is  _ definitely  _ a possibility that I’ll be hosting your baby shower.”

Clark groaned as Bruce grinned. “I hate you, you know that?”

“You love me.” He jokingly linked arms with his best friend. “C’mon, they’re going to send out the hounds soon to find us.

“I’m cool with that, I love Ace.” Clark retorted, accepting Bruce’s arm. Both men chuckled at the joke as they walked out to join the rest of the group at the dining room table.

Bruce was happy, truly  _ happy _ . And that thanksgiving, that was the only thing he really needed to be thankful for. Because everyone he was surrounded by was the reason for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was talking to my friend about this chapter and I couldn't figure out exactly what to do with Clark because I wanted to do SOMETHING. My friend mentioned a Thanksgiving where they get take out and Clark doesn't know how to use chopsticks. The entire Thanksgiving scene was a result of that, so thanks Matt.
> 
> As usual, thank you for reading and sticking with me! We're still moving (probably going to be doing so until May) and graduation in quickly approaching. You guys are amazing, stay awesome, and I hope you have a wonderful whatever-span-of-time-until-I-update-next!


	18. Leaf Warbler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Good Dad, Christmas presents, and a mystery boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys waited too long for such a short chapter, but oh well. It is what it is.

Bruce let out a yawn as he trudged upstairs. He was ready for bed, sporting red flannel pajama bottoms, an old superman t-shirt, and his grey robe. He had a glass of water in hand, walking into his room to deposit it on his bedside table. He fixed his pillows from where they’d been messed up the night before, but didn’t crawl into bed quite yet. Instead, he turned, switched his light off again, and made his way to Duke’s room. It was a few minutes past midnight, meaning all of his kids had been sent to their rooms over three hours ago. By this time, all of them were usually asleep, or were so close to it that they didn’t notice when he would stick his head in to check on them one last time.

Tonight was no different from every other night. He quietly opened the door to Duke’s bedroom, peering over at the sleeping boy. He was on his side, hands wrapped up in part of his cover that he must’ve balled up in his sleep. His mouth was open ever so slightly, small wisps of breath escaping past his lips every few seconds. Bruce clicked the door shut and tiptoed to Dick’s room.

Bruce stuck his head into the youngest’s room the same exact way he had done to Duke. Ace laid at the foot of Dick’s bed, raising his head to peer over at the man when the door creaked open. He opened his mouth and panted a few times as if grinning at Bruce’s presence, but after a few seconds the dog returned his head to rest on Dick’s feet, which Bruce could barely see the outline of through the covers. The boy himself was spread out on his back, arms coming to rest above his head. His fingers twitched a few times, but aside from that he seemed peaceful, and Bruce quietly closed the door. 

The last to visit was Cass. He slowly made his way to the room, letting another yawn wash over him before turning the knob. He poked his head in, peering over at his only daughter. She was on her side, facing Bruce. The covers were pulled up to her chin, and he could barely make out her hair splayed around her head. It would probably be a knotted mess by morning, just like it always was, and Bruce would have to spend five minutes trying to get all the tangles out. (He didn’t mind, though. He loved doing Cass’ hair just as much and she enjoyed when he would braid it for her.)

Bruce was just about to turn and tuck into bed himself when Cass’ eyes flew open, leaning up on her elbow to peer over at the man.

‘Dad?’ She signed and Bruce stepped back into the room, almost missing what she’d said in the darkness.

“I was just checking in, honey. You can go back to sleep,” he whispered, but she didn’t lay back down. Instead, she reached over and turned her lamp on, looking at Bruce with pleading eyes. He realized after a moment too long that there were tears welling up. “Hey,” he spoke softly, closing the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”

‘Nightmare,’ she signed simply before rubbing at her eyes. Bruce plodded his way over and gently sat down on the edge of the bed. She pushed herself so she was fully sitting up, and he reached over to run a soothing hand through her hair. She leaned into the touch, still wiping at her eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, bringing his hand back to rest in his lap. Cass seemed to debate it for a second before shaking her head, letting out a huff. “Okay,” he agreed, “Is there anything I can do?”

She paused again before signing, ‘Stay.’

“Okay,” he spoke again, ushering her to scoot over. She obliged, leaving room for Bruce to settle into the full-sized bed. Once he was comfortably under the covers, Cass settled into his side, and he wrapped his arm around his daughter’s shoulders.

Bruce turned the lamp off but didn’t fall asleep until Cass’ breath evened out, her hand fisting his t-shirt. Once he was sure she was unconscious, he closed his eyes and followed her lead. 

* * *

Christmas had never been a huge deal to Dick. His family just never really celebrated, so it took some adjusting when he moved into the Manor and they celebrated the holiday. He didn’t mind it, all things considered (but he did find the story of Santa Claus downright disturbing), and Bruce always made sure he knew that he didn’t necessarily have to believe in God to celebrate. After all, the whole family _ also _celebrated Hanukkah, and Bruce was the only Jewish member out of the five.

No, Dick didn’t mind Christmas at all. The gifts were nice, but he mostly just enjoyed the time he got to spend with Bruce, Cass, and Duke. Bruce took off the week surrounding Christmas day and set aside all of that time to be with them. They watched Christmas movies and ate caramel popcorn out of big metal tins until Dick’s stomach hurt. On Christmas Eve they made cookies with Alfred and were allowed to pick which ones they wanted to decorate (Dick was particularly proud of his snowman). 

Christmas day rolled around and they opened gifts. They had an early dinner, then went to volunteer at the soup kitchen, just like they had the year before. It was always nice to see everyone there on Christmas. He was sad they had to spend such a special day in a soup kitchen rather than being in a warm house with a nice, big Christmas tree, but he felt good knowing that they were at least getting a warm meal.

The day after Christmas, Bruce hosted a small party. It was friends and family only, so of course, the Kents were invited, as well as all of their friends. 

Dick sat Dan down on the bed, turning to rifle through his desk. “What are you doing?” He giggled as Dick made a show of pushing everything around in one of his drawers. 

“I’m looking for your gift!” He yanked open another drawer. It’s here somewhere…

There was a moment of silence between the two before Dan muttered, “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Aha!” Dick shouted triumphantly as he pulled out the box. He turned on his heel and made his way back over to Dan, plopping the horribly wrapped gift on the bed. “Of course I did. You’re one of my best friends. Now open it!”

Dan hesitantly picked up the box, looking between it and Dick for a second. “I didn’t get you anything…”

Dick rolled his eyes. “I don’t need anything. Just open it before I do it for you! You’re killing me!”

That was all the convincing Dan needed. He ripped away the wrapping paper (although he wasn’t quite sure how it had managed to cling to the box in the first place), and stared at the gift with wide eyes.

“Do you like it?” Dick asked. “I wasn’t sure what color to get. Alf said I should just do blue, but I wasn’t sure--” Dick’s rambling was cut off by Dan tackling him. Dick stumbled back, barely managing to catch himself before falling flat on his back.

“I love it!”

Dick grinned, wrapping his arms tightly around Dan. “I’m glad.” They pulled away a moment later, Dan whipping back to the box. “This way we can play games without taking turns. Look…” Dick started pointing out the different features on the DSI. “And we can take pictures too! C’mon, open it, we need to take one to remember this!”

Dan pulled the DSI out of its box, powering it on as he was instructed. He quickly figured out how to get to the camera and held the device out in front of them, snapping a picture of both him and Dick grinning.

“Dinner’s ready!” Bruce hollered up the steps and Dan set the DSI on the bed, turning to Dick.

“Let’s go, I’m starving!” Dick grabbed Dan’s hand and pulled him to the dining room.

And, well, if the boys were still holding hands when they sat down, no one said anything about it.

* * *

A week or so later, when they were back in school, Dan sheepishly came up to Dick at lunch. Without a word, the boy handed over a slip of paper, which Dick gave a questioning look before accepting it. As Dan settled across from him, a blush spreading on his cheeks, Dick examined the paper.

It was the picture they’d taken together, obviously printed out on a regular printer. There wasn’t even any color, the thing was just black and white, but Dick’s heart picked up pace anyway.

He looked up to Dan and grinned. “I love it.” He carefully tucked it into his pocket and the boys went about the rest of their lunch like nothing had happened.

When Dick got home, after plopping his bag onto his bed, he carefully pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket. He grabbed a tack from one of his drawers, and ever so carefully hung it next to his desk. It looked out of place, his walls barren aside from the taped together Flying Graysons poster Bruce had given him a few days after he’d torn it up, but Dick didn’t care. He stared at the picture, a small grin on his face, before turning to pull out his homework and go downstairs to sit and eat a snack with Cass and Duke.

* * *

Duke loved serving food at the soup kitchen, don’t get him wrong, but it wasn’t exactly a task that took much brainpower. Sometimes people would strike up a short conversation with him, commenting on how nice it was to see such a young person volunteering. Sometimes they would just talk about something random going on like the three inches of snow on the ground or compliment his shirt, but most times they would just silently move on, possibly muttering a ‘thank you’ as they slipped past.

Duke plopped a nice serving of mac and cheese on the woman’s tray, eyes straying past her to see the line of people waiting to get their share. His eyes landed on Roy about four people back, a puffy black jacket settled over his shoulders that Duke knew he’d gotten from one of the kitchen’s clothes drives. He was whispering to a boy next to him, his head dipping down ever so slightly since the other kid was a few inches shorter. The kid in question wore a ratty pair of jeans, the only thing keeping him warm being a tattered, red hoodie. He had tanned skin, only slightly darker than Dick’s. His eyes scanned the room, as if he was prepared for someone to jump out and try to grab him. His black hair puffed up around his head, a white streak standing out against the darker shade of the rest of his head.

The thing that sent alarm bells through Duke’s brain, though, was the bruise forming along the kid’s jawline, just to the right of his chin. Duke gave the next man his helping, just barely managing to take his eyes off the pair to smile at the man, before his gaze went back to the duo. When he looked back over, the boy was already peering at Duke. He mustered a smile, but the boy spoke something to Roy, never taking his eyes away. 

He must’ve said something about Duke, because Roy’s eyes snapped over, taking a moment to realize who he was looking at. Roy raised his hand to give a small wave, and Duke would’ve returned the gesture if it weren’t for the next man sliding his tray over.

A minute later, Roy and the kid were in front of him, holding out their trays for mac and cheese. “Hey, Roy,” Duke greeted before glancing over to the other kid, sending him a warm smile as he served the both of them.

“Hey,” he returned but didn’t say anymore. The two shuffled past, and Duke didn’t even think to ask the boy’s name until they had both settled into a seat.

Duke kept serving for another half an hour before Mrs. Valentino let him go. He washed his hands and left the kitchen in search of Roy and the boy, but found that neither of them were still there.

Weird, usually Roy waited for them to finish up and would play a few games. Duke let out a small puff as Dick sidled up next to him, grabbing his arm to pull him over to another few kids they liked talking to. 

He hoped he’d get a chance to talk to the boy later. He’d seen his fair share of bruises in the soup kitchen, but the dark purple on the boy's jaw made Duke’s stomach churn in the worst way possible, but he wasn’t quite sure why. He just had a bad feeling about this, and he swore to himself that he’d find out the boy’s name if it was the last thing he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, its been a while, hasn't it?  
I'm really sorry for anyone who waited so long for an update. As many of you know, I was in the process of moving in March and April. I've since gotten settled in and I'm doing just fine. It was just a really big adjustment for me, so I decided to take some time for myself. On top of that, with the current state of the world, I wasn't in the best mental place. I'm feeling a little better now, but I really didn't want to try to write any of this while in such a bad place. This story means a lot to me, and my goal is to always have an undercurrent of hope. There's obviously going to be sad moments, as is life, but I want this fic to mostly have a positive vibe, and I knew I just couldn't keep that up with where I was at.  
But I'm feeling a bit better now, and more ready than ever to keep writing this. I've missed it so much, and I hope you guys stick around to see what I have in store, because there's a lot yet to happen in this universe!


End file.
